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LAFAYETTE   AS   COMMANDER   OF   THE    NATIONAL   GUARDS. 


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in  2012  with  funding  from 

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THE  YOUNG  AMERICAN'S  LIBRARY. 


LIFE 


GENERAL    LAFAYETTE; 


ANECDOTES 


ILLUSTRATIVE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER. 


Will)  3lU5tnitiuii3. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
LINDSAY   &    ELAKISTON. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tl  e  year  1847,  by 

LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTON, 

in  the  clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PREFACE. 


HE  character  and  career  of  Lafayette  are 
among  the  wonders  of  the  modern  era. 
Never,  until  he  exhibited  it,  had  Europe 
seen  an  actual  instance  of  disinterested 
patriotism,  and  of  love  of  liberty  for  it- 
self, and  for  the  happiness  and  progress 
of  the  race.  Adventurers  there  has  never  been 
lack  of — but  they  have  usually  been  reckless, 
indifferent  to  the  rights  of  others,  covetous  of  praise, 
and  greedy  of  power  and  lucre.  But  Lafayette 
seemed  the  realized  vision  of  the  early  poets,  challenging 
at  once  the  admiration  of  the  world  for  his  courage,  and 
its  respect  for  his  moderation.  He  astonished  cold  calcu- 
lators by  his  pursuit  of  what  seemed  to  them  a  phantom ; 
and  he  balked  the  dreamers  who  sympathized  with  him 
at  the  outset,  by  his  calm  and  cool  application  of  prac- 
tical and  common  sense  standards  to  all  questions  and 
enterprises. 

From  the  day  that  the  Jacobins  obtained  the  ascendancy 
in  France,  Lafayette  was  a  disappointed  man  —  disap- 
pointed, not  in  regard  to  himself,  for  he  was  unambitious, 
but   in   his   estimate   of  human   character.     He  looked 

(iii) 


IV  PREFACE. 

abroad  for  kindred  spirits  with  himself,  to  make  a  i  evolu- 
tion, and  found  that  of  such  there  were  not  enough  to 
restrain  ignorant  and  undiscriminating  popular  fury — far 
less  were  there  enough  to  establish  the  model  government 
at  which  he  aimed. 

From  the  time  that  this  conviction  was  forced  upon 
him,  he  became  at  once  one  of  the  movement  party,  and 
one  of  the  conservative.  Each  was  aware  that  he  would 
fully  go  with  neither,  and  each  was  fain  to  call  upon  him 
in  extremity.  Such  calls  he  never  left  to  pass  unheeded ; 
but  came  forward,  at  certain  present  loss,  to  work  out  a 
happy  future  for  his  country,  and  a  good  man's  fame  for 
himself  He  never  was  brilliant  in  his  European  career, 
simply  because  he  never  would  assert  his  own  individu- 
ality. He  made  no  move  for  Lafayette  —  his  measures 
were  always  taken  for  France. 

Such  was  his  character  at  home.  Of  his  deeds  and 
services  in  this  country,  we  need  not  speak  to  Americans. 
Europe  is  not  yet  prepared  to  do  him  justice;  but  every 
day  strengthens  his  memory  in  the  people's  hearts,  every 
generation  farther  removed  from  the  prejudices  of  the 
past,  is  more  ready  than  its  predecessor  to  understand 
him ;  and  the  name  of  the  Prisoner  of  Olmutz  will  be  a 
household  word  when  his  enemies  are  forgotten. 

Philadelphia,  August  31,  1846. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory — Franklin's  Letter  to  Congress — Circumstances  which  sur- 
roundeJ  Lafayette — Disastrous  events  of  the  campaign  of  1776  in 
America  —  Hesitation  of  Foreign  Powers  —  Poverty  of  the  United 
States'  Commissioners — Resolution  of  Lafayette — Character  of  his 
Enterprise — Resolutions  of  Congress — Friendship  of  Washington — 
True  Value  of  Rank Page 


CHAPTER  H. 

Birth-place  and  Parentage  of  Lafayette — His  Early  Education — Enrol- 
ment in  the  Mousquitaires — Character  of  that  Corps — Its  Suppression 
— Marriage  of  Lafiyette — Meeting  with  the  Duke  of  Gloucester — 
Lafayette's  Sympathy  with  Ameri-ca  ;  how  produced — Seeks  the  Com- 
missioners— His  exalted  Motives — Candour  of  Messrs.  Franklin  and 
Deane — Perseverance  of  the  Marquis — Admiration  of  his  Conduct — 
Prohibition  and  Measures  of  his  Government — His  Embarkation — 
Arrival  in  America — Deportment  and  Reception 16 


CHAPTER  m. 

Foreign  Officers  in  the  American  Army — Jealousies — Magnanimity  of 
Lafayette — Battle  of  Brandywine — Feint  by  Knyphausen — Contra- 
dictory Advices — Position  of  the  American  Troops — Defeat  of  the 
American  Right  Wing — Abandonment  of  Chadd's  Ford — Gallantry 
of  Lafayette — Retreat  of  the  American-s — Comparative  Force  of  the 
two  Armies — Loss  on  each  Side — Reflections  on  the  Battle 25 

(V) 


VI  CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER  IV. 

British  Occupation  of  Philadelphia— Battle  of  Germantown — Defence 
of  Forts  Mercer  and  Mifflin — Arrival  of  Reinforcements  to  the  Bri- 
tish— Evacuation  of  the  Forts,  and  withdrawal  of  the  Troops  from 
New  Jersey — Gallant  Conduct  of  Lafayette — Friendship  between  him 
and  General  Greene — Appointment  of  Lafayette  to  a  Command — Sir 
William  Howe  declines  to  bring  on  an  Engagement — Lafayette  ap- 
pointed by  Congress  to  invade  Canada — That  Enterprise  abandoned 
at  his  Instance — His  narrow  Escape  from  Capture — Masterly  Retreat, 
and  high  Honour  won  by  it — Amusing  Incident 33 

CHAPTER  V. 

Sufferings  at  Valley  Forge — News  of  the  French  Treaties — Arrival  of 
British  Commissioners  —  Their  Letter  to  Congress  —  Insult  to  the 
French  King — Lafayette  challenges  the  Earl  of  Carlisle — Sir  Henry 
Clinton  evacuates  Philadelphia — Lafayette  charged  with  the  Com- 
mand of  the  Force  to  harass  his  Rear — Battle  of  Monmouth — Gallant 
Conduct  of  Lafayette — Interesting  Anecdote 46 

CHAPTER  VL 

Arrival  of  Count  D'Estaing — Narrow  Escapes  of  the  British  Forces — 
Demonstrations  against  Newport — Unfortunate  Disagreement  between 
the  French  and  Americans — Refusal  of  D'Estaing  to  co-operate  with 
Sullivan — Visit  of  Generals  Hancock  and  Lafayette  to  Boston — Re- 
treat of  the  Americans  from  the  Siege  of  Newport — Retreat  from  the 
Island  to  the  Main  Land — Gallantry  of  Lafayette — His  embarrassing 
Position — Resolution  of  Congress — Difficulties  between  the  French 
and  American  Sailors — Lafayette  obtains  Leave  of  Absence — Resolu- 
tions of  Congress — Embarkation  of  Lafayette — Mutiny  on  board  the 
Alliance — Noble  Conduct  of  the  Marquis 58 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

Reception  of  Lafayette  in  France — Franklin's  Letter — Description  cf 
the  Sword  ordered  by  Congress — Successful  Efforts  of  Lafayette  with 
the  French  Court — His  Return  to  America  and  hearty  Welcome — 
Effect  of  the  Tidings  he  brought  upon  the  Country — His  Reception 
by  Washington — Resolution  of  Congress — Arrival  of  Count  Rocham- 
beau — Lafayette's  Division — Treason  of  Arnold — Operations  in  the 
South — Well-timed  Munificence  of  Lafayette 71 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Lafayette  ordered  to  the  South — Countermanded  to  Virginia — Death  of 
General  Phillips,  and  Refusal  of  Lafayette  to  recognise  Arnold  — 
Advance  of  Cornwallis — Skilful  Manoeuvres  of  Lafayette — Affair  at 
Albemarle — Retreat  of  Cornwallis  to  Williamsburg — Affair  at  James 
River  —  Daring  Intrepidity  of  Wayne  —  Retreat  of  Cornwallis  to 
Portsmouth — Occupation  of  Yorktown  by  the  British — Arrival  of 
Count  de  Grasse — Cornwallis  hemmed  in — Arrival  of  Washington 
and  Rochambeau  —  Influence  of  Lafayette  with  the  French  Naval 
Commander — Siege  of  Yorktown — Capitulation  of  Cornwallis — 
Magnanimity  of  the  American  Soldiers 83 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Condition  of  the  American  Army — Account  of  the  Surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis—  Anecdotes  of  the  Siege  of  Yorktown  —  Address  of  Abbe 
Bandole  in  the  Catholic  Church  in  Philadelphia — Lafayette's  Last 
Orders — Resolutions  of  Congress — His  Return  to  France — His  Re- 
ception there — Visit  to  the  King  of  Prussia — News  of  the  Treaty  of 
Peace  communicated  by  him  to  Congress — Action  of  that  Body — 
Cessation  of  Hostilities 98 

CHAPTER  X. 

Visit  of  Lafayette  to  America  in  1784  —  Resolution  of  Congress  — 
Arrival  and  Reception  at  New  York  —  Triumphal  Entrance  into 
Philadelphia — Honour  paid  him  by  the  Legislature — Visit  to  Mount 
Vernon — Reception  in  Baltimore — Visit  to  the  Six  Nations — Presen- 
tation of  the  Freedom  of  New  York — Visit  to  Massachusetts — Pro- 
ceedings in  Boston  —  Touching  Incident  at  Marblehead — Visit  to 
Virginia — Takes  Leave  of  Washington — Proceedings  in  several  of 
the  State  Legislatures — The  Marquis  takes  Leave  of  Congress  — 
Embarks  for  Europe 117 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  French  Revolution — Prefatory  Remarks — The  Position  of  Lafay- 
ette— Assembly  of  the  Notables — Lafayette's  Propositions — Convoca- 
tion of  the  States-General — It  resolves  itself  into  a  National  Assembly 
—  Lafayette's  Declaration  of  Rights  —  Institution  of  the  National 
Guard — Appointment  of  Lafayette  to  its  Command — Destruction  of 
the  Bastile — Butchery  of  Foulnn  and  Berthier — Lafayette  saves  the 
Lives  of  the  Royal  Family — Gratitude  of  the  Court — Fraternization 
of  the  Soldiers — The  Removal  to  Paris — Horrid  Saturnalia 133 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Banishment  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans — Suspicions  against  him — Emi- 
gration of  the  Nobility — Activity  of  Lafayette — Grand  Fete  of  the 
Confederation — Preparations  for  it — Solemnity  of  the  Mass — Per- 
formance of  the  Te  Deum — Mutual  Oaths,  by  Lafayette  as  the  Re- 
presentative of  the  Nation,  and  by  the  People,  the  King,  and  Queen 
. — Disinterestedness  of  Lafayette  —  Attempt  on  the  Castle  of  Vin- 
cennes — The  King  prevented  from  leaving  Paris — Resignation  of  his 
Command  by  Lafayette — He  is  persuaded  to  resume  it — The  King's 
Flight  to  Varennes — Mutinous  Assembly  in  the  Champ  de  Mars — 
Resignation  of  Lafayette,  and  its  Acceptance  with  high  Honour. . . .    151 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Lafayette  appointed  to  the  Army — Resists  the  Jacobins — The  Disorders 
of  the  20th  of  June — Lafayette  appears  at  the  Bar  of  the  Assembly 
— Abortive  Attempt  to  check  the  Jacobins — Jacobin  Rage  against 
him — He  arrests  the  Commissioners  sent  against  him — Is  arrested  by 
the  Austrians,  and  tampered  with  by  the  Allies — Is  imprisoned,  first 
by  the  Prussians,  and  then  by  the  Austrians — Ineifectual  Attempt  at 
Escape — Devotion  of  Madame  Lafayette — Efforts  of  the  American 
Minister  and  Government — Liberation  of  Lafayette 165 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Lafayette's  Return  to  La  Grange — His  Consistent  Course  in  reference 
to  Napoleon — The  Fall  of  the  Emperor,  and  Restoration  of  the 
Bourbons — Resolution  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States — La- 
fayette visits  America — His  Reception  in  New  York — Route  to 
Boston — Reception  in  that  City — Return  to  New  York — Journey  up 
the  Hudson — Reception  in  Philadelphia — Baltimore — Washington — 
Virginia — Visit  to  Jefferson — Return  to  Washington — Proceedings 
in  Congress — Southern  and  Western  Tour — Bunker  Hill  Monument.  184 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Lafayette's  Departure  from  America — Reception  in  France — Revolution 
of  July,  1830,  and  Overthrow  of  the  Government  of  Charles  X. — 
Lafayette  appointed  to  the  Command  of  the  National  Guard — Louis 
Philippe  elected  King  of  the  French — Death  of  Lafayette — Funeral 
Ceremonies  in  Paris — Respect  to  his  Memory  in  the  United  States. .  204 


LIFE 

OF 

LAFAYETTE. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory — Franklin's  Letter  to  Congress  —  Circumstances  which 
surrounded  Lafayette — Disastrous  events  of  the  campaign  of  1776 
in  America — Hesitation  of  Foreign  Powers — Poverty  of  the  United 
States'  Commissioners — Resolution  of  Lafayette — Character  of  his 
Enterprise — Resolutions  of  Congress — Friendship  of  Washington — 
True  Value  of  Rank. 

^asjf'N  the  year  1777,  a  letter  was  received 
by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
from  their  Commissioners  in  France, 
Benjamin  Frankhn  and  Silas  Deane, 
from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 
"  The  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  a  young  noble- 
man of  great  connections  here,  and  great 
wealth,  is  gone  to  America  in  a  ship  of  his 
own,  accompanied  by  some  officers  of  dis- 
tinction, in  order  to  serve  in  our  armies.  He  is 
exceedingly  beloved,  and  everybody's  good  wishes 

(9) 


10  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

attend  him.  We  cannot  but  hope  he  may  meet 
with  such  a  reception  as  will  make  the  country  and 
his  expedition  agreeable  to  him.  Those  who  cen- 
sure it  as  imprudent  in  him,  do,  nevertheless,  applaud 
his  spirit;  and  we  are  satisfied  that  the  civilities 
and  respect  that  may  be  shown  him  will  be  service- 
able to  our  affairs  here,  as  pleasing,  not  only  to  his 
powerful  relations  and  to  the  Court,  but  to  the  whole 
French  nation.  He  has  left  a  beautiful  young  wife, 
and  for  her  sake,  particularly,  we  hope  that  his 
bravery  and  ardent  desire  to  distinguish  himself  will 
be  a  little  restrained  by  the  general's  prudence,  so 
as  not  to  permit  his  being  hazarded  much,  except 
on  some  important  occasion." 

Such  were  the  circumstances  of  comfort,  afflu- 
ence and  happiness,  from  which  the  enthusiastic 
young  Frenchman  turned  away,  to  seek  distinction, 
and  to  earn  a  name  and  fame  which  should  give  him 
a  title  to  the  possession  of  such  advantages.  He 
was  not  content  to  enjoy  ingloriously  what  was  his 
by  inheritance,  but  desired  to  win  a  right  to  the 
favours  with  which  he  found  himself  surrounded. 
No  readier  opening  presented  itself  than  the  struggle 
for  independence  in  America.  In  this  there  was 
everything  to  tempt  a  chivalrous  and  generous  mind, 
and  everything  to  discourage  a  mere  covetous  ad- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  11 

venturer.  The  campaign  of  1776  had  been  most 
disastrous  for  the  American  cause.  A  series  of 
misfortunes,  bad  enough  in  themselves,  were  by  in- 
terested narrators  made  to  seem  even  worse  than 
they  really  were.  The  American  troops  which  had 
counted  on  the  assistance  of  Canada,  had  been 
compelled  to  abandon  that  country,  failing  there  of 
support  or  sympathy.  Then  came  the  defeat  on 
Long  Island,  the  evacuation  of  New  York  by  the 
Americans,  the  loss  of  Fort  Washington,  the  flight 
of  Congress  from  Philadelphia  to  Baltimore,  and 
many  other  discouraging  particulars  in  the  state  of 
the  American  army.  All  these  things  were  busily 
enlarged  upon  by  the  enemies  of  America  ;  and  to 
discourage  the  idea  of  countenance  by  any  European 
power,  the  worst  phase  of  the  case  was  industriously 
circulated.  It  was  represented  abroad  that  our 
army,  reduced  to  a  mere  rabble,  was  flying  before 
an  army  of  thirty  thousand  regulars ;  "  nor,"  re- 
marks a  writer  who  was  cognizant  of  the  state  of 
tiic  army  during  the  whole  war,  Dr.  James  Thacher, 
"  was  this  statement  wide  of  the  reality."  The 
sagacious  politicians  of  France,  whose  policy  was 
governed  by  prudence,  and  who,  notwithstanding 
their  enmity  to  England,  feared  to  embark  in  a 
losing  crusade  against  her,  hesitated  to  encourage 


12  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

the  rebellious  colonies.  Indeed,  had  the  revolu- 
tionary war  terminated  otherwise  than  as  it  did,  the 
consequences  would  have  been  hardly  less  serious 
to  France  than  to  the  United  States. 

It  is  said  in  the  letter  with  which  this  chapter 
commences,  that  Lafayette  sailed  in  his  own  vessel. 
At  so  low  an  ebb  were  the  credit  and  resources  of 
our  commissioners,  and  so  desperate  was  the  con- 
dition of  the  cause  of  America,  that  her  representa- 
tives abroad  could  not  procure  a  vessel  in  which  to 
forward  their  despatches,  and  give  the  young  hero  a 
passage.  Nor  could  they,  in  the  face  of  such  circum- 
stances, encourage  his  adventurous  purpose.  The 
very  phraseology  of  their  letter,  particularly  the 
closing  part,  indicates  that  their  duty  as  honest  men 
was  at  war  with  their  patriotism.  In  view  of  the 
youth,  interesting  appearance,  and  history  of  the 
noble  volunteer,  we  may  suspect,  with  much  show 
of  reason,  that  they  accepted  his  services  and  re- 
commended him  to,  their  countrymen  with  a  trem- 
bhng  admiration,  which  would  almost  have  felt  a 
pleasant  relief,  if  the  ardent  youth  had  permitted 
himself  to  be  deterred  from  his  enterprise  by  the 
difficulties  which  appalled  elder  men,  who,  with  a 
desire  as  earnest  as  his  for  the  freedom  of  America, 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  13 

declined  to  risk  anything  of  consequence  upon  a 
cause  so  hopeless. 

But  these  discouragements  only  fired  the  zeal  of 
Lafayette.  As  the  commissioners  could  not  provide 
him  with  a  passage,  he  commenced  his  liberal  ex- 
penditures in  the  cause  with  the  outfitting  of  his  own 
vessel,  encountering  difficulties  and  dangers,  of 
which  we  shall  speak  fully  in  the  proper  place.  The 
principal  purpose  of  this  introductory  chapter  is,  to 
show  the  young  reader  that  Lafayette  was  not  like 
the  mere  rapacious  adventurer — the  lover  of  war 
for  its  own  sake  and  the  plunder  which  it  offers 
— the  reckless  soldier  of  fortune.  Higher  impulses 
moved  him  ;  and  his  is  a  higher  reward,  in  the  grati- 
tude and  respect  of  a  great  and  free  people,  than 
any  successful  exhibition  of  mere  physical  courage 
could  have  won  for  him. 

On  his  arrival  in  this  country  he  was  cordially 
received  by  Congress,  and  by  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  into  whose  military  family  he  was  at  once 
adopted,  and  whose  friendship  for  him  was  so  marked, 
that  he  has  often  been  called  "  the  adopted  son  of 
Washington."  On  the  31st  of  July,  1777,  Congress 
passed  the  following  resolution : 

"  Whereas,  The  Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  out  of  his 
great  zeal  for  the  cause  of  liberty,  in  which  the 


14  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

United  States  are  engaged,  has  left  his  family  and 
connections,  and  at  his  own  expense  come  over  to 
offer  his  services  to  the  United  States,  without  pen- 
sion or  particular  allowance,  and  is  anxious  to  risk 
his  life  in  our  cause : 

^^Resolved,  That  his  services  be  accepted,  and 
in  consideration  of  his  zeal,  illustrious  family  and 
connections,  he  have  the  rank  and  commission  of 
Major-General  in  the  army  of  the  United  States." 

Such  was  the  gratifying  answer  to  Franklin's 
letter — such  the  testimony  of  gratitude  to  the  devo- 
tion of  Lafayette.  His  proudest  encomium  is,  how- 
ever, the  friendship  of  Washington.  That  great 
man  was  one  whose  approval  or  whose  dislike  was 
never  without  its  meaning.  Too  prudent  and  saga- 
cious for  sudden  friendships,  and  too  just  for  capri- 
cious favoritism,  to  have  been  his  friend  is  a  high 
warrant  for  the  respect  of  posterity. 

In  the  resolution  passed  by  Congress,  we  are  not 
to  fall  into  the  error  that  a  republican  body  recog- 
nised, in  the  accident  of  rank  and  connections,  a 
claim  to  honour  and  preferment.  But  in  the  sacri- 
fice of  these  advantages,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken,  they  saw  earnest  of  his  sincerity,  and  proof 
of  that  true  nobility  which  is  not  conferred  by 
patent,  or  transmitted  by  descent.     The  result    as 


L  i  F  K      O  K      i.  A  F  A  V  11   I'   1'  i:  .  15 

our  attentive  reader  will  discover,  showed  that 
neither  Franklin  in  recommending,  Congress  in  ac- 
cepting, nor  Washington  in  adopting  Lafayette, 
erred  in  judgment.  With  this  introduction,  placing 
our  hero's  first  American  act,  or,  if  we  may  so  de- 
signate it,  his  American  birth,  first  before  the  reader, 
we  will  now  go  back  to  his  actual  birth  and 
parentage. 


16  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE, 


CHAPTER  II. 

Birth-place  and  Parentage  of  Lafayette — His  early  Education — En- 
rolment in  the  Mousquitaires — Character  of  that  Corps — Its  Suppres- 
sion— Marriage  of  Lafayette — Meeting  with  the  Duke  of  Gloucester 
— Lafayette's  Sympathy  with  America ;  how  produced — Seeks  the 
Commissioners — His  exalted  Motives — Candour  of  Messrs.  Frank- 
lin and  Deane — Perseverance  of  the  Marquis — Admiration  of  his 
Conduct — Prohibition  and  Measures  of  his  Government — His  Em- 
barkation— Arrival  in  America — Deportment  and  Reception. 

^ARIE  Paul  Joseph  Roch  Yves  Gil- 
bert Motier,  Marquis  de  Lafayette, 
was  born  at  the  Chateau  de  Cha- 
vagnac,  near  Brionde,  in  thfe  Pro- 
vince of  Auvergne,  on  the  6th  of 
September,  1757.  This  Province  has  been 
from  the  earhest  times  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant portions  of  France ;  its  people  were 
always  celebrated  for  their  manly  valour,  and 
the  race  from  which  our  hero  descended  was  among 
the  most  prominent  and  celebrated  families.  His 
father  fell  at  the  battle  of  Minden,  during  the  Seven 
Years'  War :  and  it  is  a  fact  worth  note,  that  Gen. 
Philhps,  who  commanded  the  battery,  a  shot  from 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  17 

which  killed  the  father,  afterward  held  a  command 
in  the  British  army  in  this  country,  and  was  thus 
opposed  to  the  son. 

Lafayette  was  early  placed  in  the  school  of  Louis 
le  Grand,  at  Paris,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  was 
enrolled  in  the  Mousquitaires  du  Roi.  This  was  a 
body  of  troops  instituted  by  Louis  XIIL  for  the 
protection  of  the  King's  person.  They  were  divided 
into  two  bodies,  gris  and  jioir  (grey  and  black),  dis- 
tinguished by  the  colour  of  their  horses.  All  the 
members  were  of  noble  families,  the  corps  was  most 
magnificently  equipped,  and  while  the  splendour  of 
its  trappings  made  it  a  splendid  holiday  escort,  the 
rigidness  of  its  discipline  constituted  it  a  school  in 
which  several  of  the  most  celebrated  French  com- 
manders were  formed.  Their  arms  were  acarbine, 
sword,  and  pistols.  The  friendship  wMch  Lafayette 
everywhere  secured  through  life  "'commenced  thus 
early.  He  was  universally,  beloved  by  his  compa- 
nions, and  the  favour  of  m§  monarch  in  a  short  time 
procured  him  the  rank  of  a  commissioned  officer. 
But  his  membership  of  this  aristocratic  body  did 
not  long  continue.  In  1775,  the  King,  under  advice 
of  his  ministers,  decreed  the  suppression  of  the 
corps,  on  account  of  the  enormous  expenses  attend- 
ing its  support,  and  perhaps  also  in  deference  to  the 


18  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

popular  dislike  to  a  body  which  served  only  the  pur- 
poses of  pageantry.  The  Mousquitaires  were  justly 
obnoxious  to  the  people,  with  whom,  from  the  very 
nature  of  things,  they  could  not  always  escape  col- 
hsion,  even  had  young  men  of  such  aristocratic 
connections  sought  to  avoid  it. 

In  1774,  Lafayette  married  Anastasie,  Countess 
of  Noailles,  and  the  union  proved  in  every  respect 
a  most  happy  one,  the  lady  being  in  all  things 
worthy  of  the  hero  to  whom  she  was  united.  This 
marriage  increased  the  annual  revenue  of  Lafayette 
to  two  hundred  thousand  francs.  His  rank,  and 
illustrious  family  and  connections,  aided  by  his  per- 
sonal merits  and  favour  with  the  Court,  opened  to 
him  a  ready  path  to  royal  preferment.  But  for  a 
life  of  inglorious  pageantry  he  had  no  taste ;  and 
early  as  he  was  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  of  tempta- 
tion, the  boy  resisted  its  wiles  with  the  prudence 
of  the  sage,  and  declined  appointments  tendered  to 
him  unsohcited,  which  others  would  have  made 
every  sacrifice  to  win. 

The  circumstance  which  first  drew  Lafayette's 
attention  to  the  cause  of  freedom  in  America  has 
been  left  on  record  by  the  hero  himself.  While  sta- 
tioned in  the  citadel  of  Melz,  being  then  only  eigh- 
teen years  of  age,  he  was  thrown  into  the  society 


LIFE     Of     LAFAYETTE.  19 

of  an  English  nobleman,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
who  was  at  that  time  an  exile  from  England  on  ac- 
count of  a  marriage  which  he  had  contracted  ;  for 
the  blood-royal  has,  in  this  and  some  other  particu- 
lars, absolutely  less  freedom  than  the  meanest  sub- 
ject. Communication  between  the  Old  and  New- 
Worlds  was  not  then,  as  now,  a  thing  of  direct  and 
almost  daily  occurrence.  Direct  intercourse  with 
the  American  colonies  of  Great  Britain  by  other 
nations  was  out  of  the  question,  and  news,  like 
other  articles  of  export  from  any  colony,  had  to 
pass  principally  through  the  mother  country ;  sub- 
ject, of  course,  to  the  particular  tone  and  explana- 
tion which  it  might  receive  in  such  a  course  of 
transmission.  Courts  were  content  to  learn  officially 
what  the  English  Court  chose  to  communicate ;  not 
caring,  or  at  least  not  seemins;  to  desire  to  look 
behind  such  record  as  the  Home  Government  chose 
to  permit  to  go  abroad. 

As  such  sources  of  information  were  never  con- 
sidered very  reliable,  individual  curiosity,  in  persons 
whose  sympathies  were  moved,  of  course  desired 
much  more.  Distance,  the  heroism  of  the  early 
encounters  of  the  Revolution,  the  temerity,  then 
unprecedented,  of  colonies  resisting  their  parent 
country,  the  name  and  character  of  Franklin  and 


20  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

Others,  and  the  wit,  eloquence,  and  perseverance, 
with  which  the  great  philosopher  had  pressed  the 
claims  of  the  Americans  upon  the  attention  of  the 
people  of  Europe,  all  these  causes  united  gave  the 
state  of  affairs  in  the  New  World  the  air  of  romance, 
and  predisposed  the  generous  mind  to  listen  with 
intense  interest  to  any  intelligence  from  America. 

The  information  which  Lafayette  received  from 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  respecting  the  state  of  the 
noble  contest  in  which  the  Americans  were  engaged, 
fired  his  mind  with  a  desire  to  hear  farther.  Leaving 
Metz  for  Paris,  he  became  acquainted  with  Silas 
Deaiie,  the  American  commissioner,  and,  upon  his 
arrival,  with  Dr.  Franklin.  The  appearance  of  the 
venerable  Franklin  in  Paris  created  an  excitement 
and  enthusiasm,  personal,  philosophical,  and  politi- 
cal, such  as  had  never  before  greeted  any  individual. 
What  he  said  had  the  credit  of  an  oracle,  and  what 
he  did,  the  interest  which  had  before  attended  only 
the  movements  of  potentates  and  princes. 

Lafayette  sought  of  Dr.  Franklin  infarmation  re- 
lative to  the  causes  of  the  resistance  of  the  colonies, 
their  present  state,  and  their  future  prospects.  Upon 
his  first  arrival,  Dr.  Franklin  encouraged  the  Mar- 
quis in  the  generous  design  he  had  formed,  of  par- 
ticipating, as  a  volunteer  of  life  and  of  fortune,  in 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  21 

the  glorious  contest  for  freedom.  He  could  appre- 
ciate the  filial  respect  which  carried  the  son  into  a 
career  in  which  the  father  fell ;  particularly,  w^hen 
to  defend  the  right  in  this  contest,  was  to  array 
himself  in  arms  against  the  nation  of  which  France 
had  been  for  centuries  the  enemy — to  indulge  the 
military  spirit  with  which  his  education  had  imbued 
him — to  remember  the  fall  of  his  father — and  to 
consecrate  to  the  cause  of  freedom,  a  hfe  which 
might  else  be  wasted  in  the  luxuries  of  a  Court,  and 
the  display  of  mere  martial  pageantry. 

But  when  the  tidings  of  the  reverses  came,  to 
which  we  have  alluded  in  the  first  chapter,  when 
the  commissioners  were  themselves  doubtful  of  the 
issue,  they  frankly,  in  conversation  with  the  iMar- 
quis,  avowed  the  despondency  which  their  letter  to 
Congress  not  obscurely  betrays.  But  to  their  honest 
dissuasives  the  young  hero  replied :  "  Your  own 
reasoning  only  shows  that  now  is  precisely  the  time 
to  embrace  your  cause.  The  more  people  are  dis- 
couraged, the  greater  utility  will  result  from  my  de- 
parture ;  and  if  you  cannot  furnish  me  with  a  vessel, 
I  will  freight  one  at  my  own  expense,  to  convey  your 
despatches  and  my  person  to  the  shores  of  America!" 
How  different  these  noble  sentiments  from  the  inte- 
rested sympathy  which  is  too  common  in  the  world, 


S2  LIFE     Oi^     LAFAYETTE. 

and  reserves  its  aid  until  it  is  almost  certain  that 
the  party  favoured  could  sustain  itself  without ' 

Such  a  movement  on  the  part  of  a  young,  wealthy, 
and  highly-connected  nobleman,  who  had  within  his 
grasp  already  all  the  ease,  affluence,  and  position, 
for  which  ordinary  minds  endure  danger,  astonished 
Europe.  It  seemed  to  be  a  revival  of  the  generous 
contempt  for  self,  and  love  of  glory  and  virtue  for 
their  own  sake,  which  poets  have  oftener  painted 
than  men  have  seen.  If  Franklin  appeared  to  the 
enthusiastic  Frenchman  one  of  the  sages  of  anti- 
quity revisiting  earth,  Lafayette  appeared  the  em- 
bodiment of  one  of  the  heroes  of  mythological  song 
— a  hero  with  all  the  exalted  virtues  of  fable,  and 
none  of  the  feelings  which  the  grosser  conceptions 
of  antiquity  admitted  into  the  catalogue  of  the  vir- 
tues. He  was  a  demi-god,  with  the  added  advan- 
tages of  civilization  ;  a  chevalier,  indeed,  ^^sans  peiir 
et  sans  rejprocheP 

Aside  from  the  simple  personal  risk  attending  all 
war,  contempt  for  which  is  the  acme  of  ordinary 
courage,  Lafayette  exposed  his  entire  property  to 
confiscation  by  the  laws  of  France,  by  his  clandes- 
tine departure.  He  ranked  himself  with  rebels,  and 
came  under  the  category  of  a  criminal  against  the 
laws  of  Great  Britain,  and  an  offender  against  those 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  23 

of  his  own  country ;  for  his  departure  was  formally 
prohibited  by  the  French  Government.  If  captured 
upon  his  passage,  he  incurred  the  risk  of  an  indefi- 
nite term  of  imprisonment,  without  the  hope  of  an 
exchange,  and  without  the  right  to  expect  any  inter- 
vention from  his  own  monarch.  Animated  by  the 
most  exalted  enthusiasm,  he  despised  all  these  diffi- 
culties and  dangers.  He  considered  the  cause  of 
America  "  not  only  just,  but  sacred  ;  and  the  affec- 
tion he  bore  it  was  the  more  ardent,  as,  indepen- 
dently of  the  candour  of  his  character,  he  was  of 
that  age  when  good  appears  not  only  good  but  fair, 
and  man  not  only  loves  but  is  enamoured." 

The  French  Government  not  only  forbade  the 
departure  of  Lafayette,  but  despatched  vessels  with 
orders  to  arrest  him  in  the  West  Indies,  should  he 
touch  there.  But  he  gave  those  seas  aw'ideberth,  and 
embarking  in  March,  arrived  on  the  coast  of  South 
Carolina  on  the  19th  of  April,  1777.  He  landed  on 
North  Island,  in  Winyau  Bay,  and  was  cordially 
received  by  Maj.  Benjamin  Huger ;  and  after  par- 
taking a  short  time  of  his  hospitality,  repaired  to 
Charleston.  His  first  act  was  to  present  Gen. 
Moultrie  with  clothing,  arms,  and  accoutrements  for 
one  hundred  men,  as  a  token  of  his  admiration  of 
the  gallant  defence  which  the  General's  command 


24  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

had  made  against  the  British  forces  on  SulHvan's 
Island. 

Nor  was  this  munificence  dimmed  by  any  air  of 
patronage,  or  assumption  of  superiority.  His  man- 
ners are  thus  described  in  a  note  to  Chastelleux's 
Travels :  "  His  frankness  and  zeal  in  the  cause  soon 
secured  him  the  universal  esteem  of  the  Americans. 
It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  affection  with  which 
he  was  regarded  by  them.  His  deportment  was 
dignified  without  pride,  his  manners  gentle  without 
apathy,  frank  without  boldness,  and  courteous  with- 
out servility." 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  25 


CHAPTER  III. 

Foreign  Officers  in  the  American  Army — Jealousies — Magnanimity  of 
Lafayette — Battle  of  Brandywine — Feint  by  Knyphausen — Contra- 
dictory Advices — Position  of  the  American  Troops — Defeat  of  the 
American  Right  Wing — Abandonment  of  Chadd's  Ford — Gallantry 
of  Lafayette — Retreat  of  the  Americans — Comparative  Force  of  the 
two  Armies — Loss  on  each  Side — Reflections  on  the  Battle. 

ANY  of  the  foreign  military  officers 
who  came  to  this  country  to  serve 
in  the  Revolutionary  War,  were  most 
exacting  in  their  demands,  both  in 
regard  to  rank  and  pay.  The  friends 
of  America  in  France,  before  FrankHn  ar- 
rived in  that  country  with  a  true  know^ledge 
of  the  state  of  things  in  this,  held  out  induce- 
ments and  prospects  which  it  was  impossible 
could  be  realized ;  and  Congress  added  to  the  diffi- 
culty by  directing  or  requesting  more  commissions 
to  be  granted  than  there  were  vacancies  to  fill. 
There  was  a  natural  jealousy  on  the  part  of  American 
officers  against  the  foreigners  who  presented  such 
extravagant  claims ;  and  this  train  of  circumstances 


26  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

presented  one  of  the  great  sources  of  difficulty, 
over  which  the  wisdom  and  moderation  of  Wash- 
ington was  finally  successful.  It  was  unquestion- 
ably true  that  the  services  of  experienced  soldiers 
were  in  the  highest  degree  useful  in  the  revolutionary 
army.  The  enthusiasm  of  resistance  to  oppression, 
irresistible  in  its  first  uprising,  is  still  not  able  to 
cope  with  military  experience,  and  the  mechanical 
perseverance  of  military  tactics,  in  a  long  struggle. 
Thus  we  find  that  the  outbreaks  of  an  indignant 
people,  terrible  in  their  first  manifestations  against 
tyranny,  are  usually  quelled  by  the  slow-moving,  but 
ponderous  and  effective  blows  of  regular  troops; 
and  thus  it  would  have  been  in  this  country,  if  the 
virtues  of  patience  and  endurance  had  not  succeeded 
the  ardour  of  the  first  resistance. 

The  coolness  and  far-seeing  wisdom  of  the  leaders 
in  the  great  cause  in  which  the  colonies  were  em- 
barked, provided  for  the  difficulties  which  we  have 
noted ;  and  the  army  submitted,  though  with  natural 
repinings  in  many  quarters,  to  the  laborious  drilling 
which  every  day's  experience  showed  them,  more 
and  more,  they  must  endure,  if  they  would  finally 
succeed.  There  were  two  classes  of  foreign  offi- 
cers in  this  country,  one  of  which  was  composed 
of  mere  soldiers,  seeking  employment  and  insisting 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  27 

upon  a  full  and  more  than  a  full  recognition  of  the 


value  of  their  services.  The  other  was  made  up 
of  men  who  felt  a  holy  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  cause 
of  freedom,  and  a  deep  sympathy  for  the  oppressed 
colonists.  At  the  head  of  this,  and  we  are  fain  to 
conclude  it  was  the  larger  number,  stood  Lafayette. 
To  the  first  of  these  classes  the  army  recognised 
the  duty,  sometimes  unpalateable,  of  obedience;  for 
the  latter  they  felt  love,  esteem,  and  fervent  grati- 
tude. No  man  among  them  was  more  beloved  than 
Lafayette,  and  none  more  deservedl3^ 

His  conduct  was  in  striking  contrast  with  that  of 
many  others.  He  would  receive  no  pay,  and  de- 
manded no  station,  but  desired  to  enter  as  a  volun- 
teer. The  honorary  rank  of  major-general  he  had 
expected,  and  as  we  have  already  observed,  it  was 
at  once  conferred  upon  him.  Under  the  advice  and 
example  of  Washington — it  must  be  remembered 
that  Lafayette  had  not  yet  reached  the  age  which 
we  now  consider  the  commencement  of  manhood — 
his  character  was  fixed,  and  the  ardent  love  of  liberty 
which  animated  his  youth,  was  ripened  into  the  more 
stable  and  judicious  sentiment  of  mature  age. 

The  young  soldier  burned  for  an  opportunity  to 
distinguish  himself,  and  prove  by  the  possession  of 
actual  courage  and  endurance,  that  he  was  equal  to 


28  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

the  expectations  of  his  friends.  Such  an  occasion 
soon  occurred  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  The 
British  commander  having  in  vain  attempted  to  ap- 
proach Philadelphia  from  the  north,  changed  his 
plan,  and  proceeded  by  sea  to  the  Chesapeake, 
passing  up  the  Elk  river  to  the  head  of  navigation, 
where  they  disembarked.  Washington  posted  his 
troops  to  oppose  the  enemy,  and  after  various  moves 
and  countermarches,  finally  withdrew  to  the  north 
bank  of  the  Brandy  wine,  determining  there  to  await 
the  general  engagement,  which  the  defence  of  Phi- 
ladelphia and  the  interest  of  the  cause  seemed  abso- 
lutely to  demand. 

The  battle  of  the  Brandywine  took  place  on  the 
11th  of  September.  We  have  not  space  to  describe 
all  its  manoeuvres,  and  select  that  portion  in  which 
our  hero  was  most  directly  engaged.  Intelligence 
having  been  received  that  the  British  army  was  in 
motion  upon  the  direct  road  to  cross  Chadd's  Ford, 
the  Americans  were  immediately  posted  to  dispute 
that  passage.  Skirmishing  soon  commenced ;  and 
General  Knyphausen,  who  commanded  one  division 
of  the  British  army,  made  demonstrations  of  an  in- 
tention to  force  a  passage  at  this  point.  But  at 
eleven  o'clock  information  was  received  by  Wash- 
mgton,  that  a  large  column  had  left  the  main  body 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  29 

of  the  British  army,  and  proceeded  up  the  river  to 
cross  at  a  higher  point,  while  Gen.  Knyphausen 
misled  the  Americans  by  a  feint.  Dispositions  were 
made  to  meet  this  manoeuvre ;  and  Washington  had 
determined  to  cross  the  river  and  attack  Knyphau- 
sen, when  intelligence,  deemed  authentic,  was  re- 
ceived, that  the  division  of  the  British  army  which 
had  gone  up  the  Brandywine,  under  command  of 
Cornwallis,  was  returning  on  the  same  side  of  the 
river  without  attempting  a  passage. 

But  the  incorrectness  of  this  information  was  dis- 
covered about  two  in  the  afternoon,  when  it  was 
ascertained  that  Cornwallis  had  crossed  the  Brandy- 
wine,  and  was  advancing  in  great  force.  General 
Washington  immediately  directed  the  divisions  com- 
manded by  Sterling,  Sullivan,  and  Stephen,  to  march 
up  the  Brandywine  and  form  to  face  the  enemy. 
Wayne's  division  remained  at  Chadd's  Ford  to  keep 
Knyphausen  in  check,  and  Greene's  division,  accom- 
panied by  Gen.  Washington,  was  posted  between 
the  two  main  bodies  as  a  reserve. 

The  British  troops  under  Cornwallis  fell  on  the 
Americans  with  great  impetuosity,  and  the  Ameri- 
cans defended  themselves  for  some  time  with  such 
resolution  that  the  carnage  was  terrific.  But  a 
great  portion  of  the  American  troops  were  raw,  and 


30  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

Sullivan's  division  had  not  formed  when  the  attack 
of  the  British  commenced.  In  taking  ground  they 
made  too  large  a  circuit ;  and  raw  troops,  attacked 
while  in  motion  to  a  position,  however  courageous 
they  may  be,  are  easily  thrown  into  confusion.  As 
soon  as  the  engagement  with  Cornwallis  commenced, 
the  reserve  under  Greene  hurried  forward  to  support 
their  countrymen ;  but  Gen.  Greene  did  not  reach 
the  ground  till  the  route  was  complete.  He,  how- 
ever, did  excellent  service  in  checking  the  enemy, 
and  covering  the  retreat  of  the  Americans. 

When  Knyphausen  found  Cornwallis  was  engaged 
with  the  Americans,  he  made  preparations  to  cross 
Chadd's  Ford  in  earnest.  The  troops  under  Wayne 
and  Maxwell  made  a  vigorous  resistance,  till  it  was 
perceived  that  the  other  body  of  the  American  army 
had  given  way ;  and  then,  resistance  being  no  longer 
of  any  utility,  the  defence  of  the  ford  was  aban- 
doned, and  the  whole  army  retreated  that  night  to 
Chester,  and  on  the  day  following  to  Philadelphia. 

The  station  of  Lafayette  in  this  engagement  was 
with  the  portion  of  the  army  under  the  command  of 
Sterling,  Sullivan,  and  Stephen.  Although  some  of 
the  regiments  behaved  badly  and  broke  early,  others, 
particularly  some  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  regi- 
ments, behaved  with  a  firmness  which  would  have 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  31 

done  high  honour  to  veterans.  So  well  did  they 
cover  the  retreat  of  their  comrades,  that  very  httle 
damage  was  sustained  except  in  the  actual  engage- 
ment ;  and  this  was  so  large  as  to  do  great  credit  to 
the  courage  even  of  those  who  were  deficient  in 
discipline. 

The  American  troops,  after  breaking,  were  several 
times  rallied.  In  this  service  the  French  officers, 
and  Lafayette  particularly,  were  of  vast  benefit. 
With  a  disregard  of  life  which  amounted  almost  to 
a  fault,  he  exposed  himself  in  rallying  the  troops, 
and  encouraging  them  by  his  example;  and  not- 
withstanding he  received  a  wound  in  the  leg,  he 
continued  at  his  post,  cheering  the  troops  by  his 
conduct  as  a  soldier,  and  by  his  voice  as  a  general, 
as  long  as  resistance  could  be  of  any  service.  The 
Baron  St.  Ovary,  Capt.  de  Fleury,  and  Count  Pu- 
laski also  distinguished  themselves  in  the  engagement 

The  British  troops  engaged  in  this  battle  could 
not  have  been  much  less  than  eighteen  thousand 
veteran  soldiers.  The  American  force  has  been 
stated  at  fifteen,  but  on  account  of  the  badness  and 
deficiency  of  arms  and  munitions,  the  effective 
American  force  was  between  eleven  and  twelve 
thousand  men  only.  The  loss  of  the  Americans 
was  three  hundred  killed,  six  hundred  wounded,  and 
between  three  and  four  hundred  prisoners,  most  of 


33  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

whom  were  wounded.  The  official  letter  of  Sir 
William  Howe  stated  the  British  loss  at  rather  less 
than  one  hundred  killed,  and  four  hundred  wounded  ; 
a  disparity  no  doubt  to  be  imputed  to  the  deficiency 
in  the  quality  of  the  American  arms. 

This  battle  was  not  considered  decisive  by  Con- 
gress, the  general,  or  the  army.  It  was  said  that 
the  British  had  only  gained  the  ground.  At  any 
rate,  when  the  spirit  remains  unconquered,  there  is 
no  victory  in  a  moral,  whatever  there  may  be  in  a 
technical  sense.  It  is  remarked  by  Marshall,  that 
even  if  contradictory  intelligence  had  not  prevented 
the  best  disposition  of  the  troops,  the  action  could 
not  have  terminated  in  favour  of  the  Americans. 
Their  inferiority  in  numbers,  in  discipline,  and  in 
arms,  was  too  great  to  leave  them  a  probable  pros- 
pect of  victory.  A  battle,  however,  was  not  to  be 
avoided.  The  opinion  of  the  public  and  of  Con- 
gress demanded  it.  The  loss  of  Philadelphia,  with- 
out an  attempt  to  preserve  it,  would  have  excited 
discontents,  which,  in  the  United  States,  might  be 
productive  of  serious  mischief;  and  action,  though 
attended  with  defeat,  provided  the  loss  be  not  too 
great,  must  improve  an  army  in  which,  not  only  the 
military  talents,  but  even  the  courage  of  officers, 
some  of  them  of  high  rank,  remained  to  be  ascer- 
tained. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE, 


CHAPTER  IV. 


British  Occupation  of  Philadelphia — Battle  of  Germantown — Defence 
of  Forts  Mercer  and  Mifflin — Arrival  of  Reinforcements  to  the  Bri- 
tish— Evacuation  of  the  Forts,  and  withdrawal  of  the  Troops  from 
New  Jersey — Gallant  Conduct  of  Lafayette — Friendship  between 
him  and  Gen.  Greene — Appointment  of  Lafayette  to  a  Command — 
Sir  William  Howe  declines  to  bring  on  an  Engagement — Lafayette 
appointed  by  Congress  to  invade  Canada — That  Enterprise  aban- 
doned at  his  Instance — His  narrow  Escape  from  Capture — Masterly 
Retreat,  and  high  Honour  won  by  it — Amusing  Incident. 

FTER  a  continued  struggle  of  more 
than  six  weeks,  the  British  army  was 
at  last  secured  in  the  possession  of 
Philadelphia,  by  opening  a  communi- 
cation with  their  fleet.  Indeed,  from 
the  time  of  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine,  in  Sep- 
tember, to  the  day  that  the  American  army 
went  into  winter-quarters  at  Valley  Forge, 
nothing  that  could  be  effected  without  too 
great  danger  to  the  cause  was  left  unattempted. 
The  pubhc  property  was  all  safely  removed  from 
Philadelphia  before  the  26th  of  September,  when  the 
British  army  took  possession.     During  the  week 


34  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

previous  Congress  had  separated,  and  on  the  27th 
they  met  again  at  Lancaster. 

We  have  not  space,  nor  is  it  pertinent  to  our  sub- 
ject to  describe  all  the  operations  of  this  period. 
On  the  4th  of  October  occurred  the  battle  of  Ger- 
mantown,  judiciously  planned  and  auspiciously  com- 
menced, but  defeated  by  the  confusion  which  arose 
from  the  dense  fog,  and  other  causes.  The  sharp- 
ness of  the  contest  is  shown  by  the  number  of  killed 
and  wounded.  Upon  the  xA.merican  side  there  w^ere 
two  hundred  killed,  near  thrice  the  number  wounded, 
and  four  hundred  prisoners  lost.  The  British  loss 
was  about  one  hundred  killed,  and  four  hundred 
wounded.  So  pleased  was  Congress  with  the  man- 
ner of  the  attempt,  and  the  gallantry  of  the  conduct 
of  the  army,  that  their  approbation  of  the  plan  of 
the  enterprise,  and  of  the  courage  with  which  it  was 
conducted,  was  formally  expressed  in  very  decided 
terms ;  and  what  was  better  than  all,  as  the  affair 
was  considered  by  no  means  a  defeat,  but  a  very 
gallant  and  well  sustained,  though  unsuccessful  de- 
monstration ;  it  both  raised  the  character  of  the  Ame- 
rican forces,  and  rallied  their  courage.  The  capture  of 
Burgoyne,  and  successful  issue  of  the  northern  cam- 
paign, was  another  circumstance  which  caused  new 
hopes ;  and  as  to  the  mere  possession  of  Philadel- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  35 

phia,  obtained  as  it  was  with  such  hard  fighting  for 
every  inch  of  ground  in  the  approach,  the  occupa- 
tion was  contested  with  such  perseverance,  by  efforts 
to  prevent  communication  between  the  British  fleet 
and  army,  that  Dr.  Franklin's  saying,  when  m 
France  he  heard  the  news,  must  have  occurred  to 
many  others.  The  Doctor  said,  that  instead  of 
Howe's  taking  Philadelphia,  it  had  taken  him. 

The  defence  of  the  fort  at  Red  Bank,  and  of  Fort 
Mifllin,  and  the  protection  of  the  obstructions  which 
had  been  placed  in  the  Delaware,  were  attended  with 
prodigies  of  valour  and  endurance  upon  the  part  of 
the  Americans,  insomuch,  as  has  already  been  re- 
marked, that  after  the  British  had  entered  Philadel- 
phia, it  was  more  than  six  weeks  before  the  position 
became  of  any  service  to  them.  The  British  lost 
four  hundred  men  in  one  attack  on  the  fort  at  Red 
Bank ;  and  Fort  Mifflin  was  not  evacuated  until  it 
was  absolutely  levelled,  and  no  longer  defensible. 
The  arrival  of  a  reinforcement  from  New  York, 
which  enabled  the  British  to  make  a  demonstration 
upon  the  fort  at  Red  Bank,  without  weakening  their 
forces  at  Philadelphia,  determined  the  American 
commander  upon  evacuating  that  post  also. 

Before  the  evacuation  of  the  fort  at  Red  Bank, 
which  was  called  Fort  Mercer,  Gen,  Greene  was 


36  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

detached  with  a  command  from  the  Pennsylvania 
side  into  New  Jersey,  in  order  to  protect  a  posi- 
tion which  it  was  of  such  high  importance  to 
retain.  His  orders  were  conditional,  depending 
upon  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  from  New  York, 
which  did  not  reach  him;  and  such  was  the  superi- 
ority of  the  British  force,  that  Gen.  Greene  did  not 
hazard  an  engagement.  Greene  was  soon  after  re- 
called from  the  Jersey  side  by  Gen.  Washington, 
and  the  British  troops  were  also  recalled  to  Phila- 
delphia. Greene  was  accompanied  in  this  expedi- 
tion by  Lafayette,  although  his  wound,  received  at 
Brandywine,  was  not  yet  healed.  Although  no 
general  engagement  took  place,  Lafayette  had  a 
new  opportunity  of  signalizing  himself  He  com- 
manded some  detachments  of  militia,  which,  aided 
by  Morgan's  famous  rifles,  attacked  and  routed  a 
superior  force  of  British  grenadiers  and  Hessians. 
Gen.  Greene,  in  speaking  of  this  affair,  said,  "The 
Marquis  seemed  to  seek  for  danger,  and  was  charmed 
with  the  behaviour  of  his  men."  A  friendship  com- 
menced between  Greene  and  Lafayette  which  death 
only  severed ;  and  when,  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
Lafayette  returned  to  France,  he  took  over  with  him 
the  eldest  son  of  his  friend,  and  superintended  his 
education.    Young  Greene  returned  to  this  country 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  37 

shortly  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion, and  gave  great  promise  to  do  honour  to  his  edu- 
cation ;  but  was  drowned  in  the  Savannah  soon 
after  his  arrival. 

Shortly  after  his  display  of  courage  and  gallantry 
in  Jersey,  Washington  invested  Lafayette  with  the 
command  of  a  division,  he  having  hitherto  served 
as  a  volunteer.  On  the  1st  of  December  this  ap- 
pointment was  ratified  by  Congress.  Nothing  more 
occurred  during  this  campaign,  except  the  marching 
of  Sir  William  Howe  out  of  Philadelphia,  with^he 
avowed  purpose  of  giving  the  Americans  battle,  and 
his  return  without  bringing  on  an  engagement.  The 
armies  were  very  nearly  equal  in  point  of  numbers, 
each  enrolling  about  twelve  thousand ;  and  neither 
general  cared  to  forfeit  the  advantage  of  position, 
which  he  who  commenced  the  attack  would  have 
been  obliged  to  do,  from  the  nature  of  the  ground. 
This  return  of  Sir  William  Howe  was  a  high  testi- 
mony of  respect  to  the  talents  of  the  commander, 
and  the  courage  of  the  soldiers  with  whom  he  had 
to  contend.  About  the  middle  of  December  the 
American  army  went  into  winter-quarters  at  Valley 
Forge,  constructing  log-huts  for  their  shelter ;  and 
their  sufferings  during  that  winter  were  such  as  no 
ordinary  or  mercenary  troops  could  have  endured. 


38  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

On  the  22d  of  January,  1778,  Congress  passed  a 
resolve  directing  an  irruption  into  Canada,  under 
officers  appointed  by  Congress;  and  on  the  next 
day  Major-Generals  Lafayette  and  Conway,  and 
Brigadier-General  Stark  were  appointed  to  the  duty. 
Tlie  commander-in-chief  was  not  consulted  with  or 
advised  upon  the  subject ;  and  had  not  his  patriot- 
ism made  him  superior  to  punctilio,  he  would  have 
resented  an  insult  which  could  have  originated  with 
no  friend,  though  friends  were  unwittingly  betrayed 
intp  it.  Lafayette  was  summoned  immediately  to 
receive  the  instructions  of  the  Board  of  War,  and 
with  these  he  proceeded  to  Albany,  where  he  pub- 
lished a  memorial  addressed  to  the  French  Canadians, 
invoking  their  assistance.  But  he  found  at  Albany 
neither  men  nor  munitions — nothing,  in  fact,  had 
been  done  which  was  promised.  Our  hero  was  at 
this  time  only  twenty  years  of  age.  His  contempt 
for  danger  we  have  already  seen,  so  that  danger 
could  weigh  nothing  with  him.  He  saw  before  him 
the  glory  of  a  separate  command,  and  the  opportu- 
nity to  distinguish  himself  in  rash  adventure,  if  mere 
courage  had  been  his  preponderating  feeling.  But 
he  gave  the  evidence  of  such  judgment  and  foresight 
as  would  have  done  honour  to  a  veteran  commander; 
and  at  his  representations  the  enterprise  was  aban- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  39 

doned,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  highest  compli- 
ments were  paid  to  his  character  for  courage  and 
prudence. 

In  the  spring  of  1778  Lafayette  had  an  adventure, 
which  came  very  near  being  a  serious  one,  for  him- 
self and  for  the  American  army.  It  was  thus  no- 
ticed in  the  Royal  Gazette,  published  in  Philadel- 
phia :  — "  Information  having  been  received  last 
Tuesday,  that  Mr.  Washington  and  his  tattered 
retinue  had  abandoned  their  mud-holes,  and  were 
on  their  way  to  Germantown,  a  detachment  of  Bri- 
tish and  Hessian  troops  went  out  to  meet  and  escort 
them  into  this  city ;  but  the  rebels  being  apprised  of 
their  approach,  fled  back  with  precipitation  to  what 
they  term  their  camp,  determined  to  act  no  farther 
on  the  offensive  than  might  be  consistent  with  their 
personal  safety." 

From  such  a  paragraph  as  the  above,  contemptu- 
ous, illiberal,  and  petty,  the  reader  would  be  little 
apt  to  suspect  the  true  character  of  the  affair  to 
which  it  referred.  Gen.  Washington  had  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  movements  of  the  British  forces 
to  know,  that  the  manner  in  which  they  occupied 
Philadelphia  was  of  no  benefit  to  their  operations, 
and  judged  that  they  would  of  course  soon  evacuate 
that  city.     He  wished  to  have  a  force  in  readiness 


40  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

to  harass  their  rear  as  they  marched  out ;  and  he 
desired  also  to  intercept  and  cut  off  the  foraging 
parties,  which  generally  sallied  from  Philadelphia, 
and  effected  their  return  before  a  force  could  be 
detailed  from  the  camp  at  Valley  Forge. 

To  perform  this  service  Lafayette  was  directed, 
with  a  picked  detachment  of  twenty-five  hundred 
men,  to  cross  the  Schuylkill  and  take  up  a  position 
of  observation  near  the  enemy's  outworks  ;  and  he 
was  particularly  instructed  not  to  remain  long  in  one 
place  of  encampment.  Either  through  the  treachery 
of  some  one  of  the  residents,  or  by  the  services  of 
a  spy.  Gen.  Howe  was  advised  of  Lafayette's  en- 
campment on  Barren  Hill  almost  as  soon  as  it  was 
made.  Gen.  Howe  instantly  took  measures  to  en- 
trap "  the  boy,"  as  the  British  officers  termed  Lafa- 
yette, and  issued  invitations  to  several  ladies  to 
meet  the  French  prisoner  at  supper  in  Philadelphia 
on  the  following  day. 

General  Grant,  accompanied  by  Sir  William  Ers- 
kine,  and  commanding  five  thousand  select  troops, 
was  despatched  with  orders  to  gain  the  rear  of  La- 
fayette, and  thus  intercept  his  retreat  by  Matson's 
Ford,  while  Gen.  Gray  was  to  take  possession  of 
the  heights  near  the  Falls  of  Schuylkill,  and  prevent 
the  Americans  from  fording  the  river  at  that  place. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  41 

It  SO  happened,  that  a  regiment  which  Lafayette  had 
posted  at  White  Marsh,  an  important  position,  for 
some  unexplained  reason  changed  their  place,  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  Lafayette,  and  thus  the  roads 
in  that  direction  were  left  unguarded  ;  Gen.  Grant, 
moving  with  great  celerity,  found  no  difficulty  in 
passing  Lafayette  unperceived,  and  gaining  the  po- 
sition at  which  he  aimed,  and  which  he  thought  had 
completely  hemmed  in  the  young  major-general. 
With  this  strong  hody  between  himself  and  Valley 
Forge,  and  with  troops  advancing  from  Philadelphia 
to  complete  the  capture,  Lafayette's  position  was 
desperate  indeed. 

Capt.  McLane,  a  most  vigilant  officer,  who  com- 
manded a  company  of  hght  troops  which  hovered 
about  the  British  lines  as  a  corps  of  observation, 
was  the  first  to  discover  the  danger  of  Lafayette ; 
and  his  suspicion  was  aroused  by  the  fact  that  all 
communication  between  Philadelphia  and  the  country 
was  interdicted,  and  the  guard  kept  with  double  vigi- 
lance. McLane,  on  the  night  of  May  19th,  was 
fortunate  enough  to  fall  in  with  two  deserters,  who 
informed  him  that  Gen.  Grant  had  marched  out  of 
Philadelphia,  as  above  stated,  and  that  another 
strong  body  of  men  were  preparing  to  leave  Phila 


42  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

delphia  and  proceed  up  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill 
to  the  Falls. 

McLane  saw  at  once  the  purpose  of  these  move- 
ments. He  gave  the  command  of  his  corps  to  Capt. 
William  Parr,  of  Morgan's  Rifles,  and  directed  him 
to  push  for  the  heights  of  Schuylkill,  and  resist  the 
advancing  column  of  the  enemy  to  the  last  extremity. 
McLane  himself  posted  off  to  Barren  Hill,  Lafay- 
ette's camp,  where  he  arrived  with  his  intelhgence 
about  daybreak. 

Nearly  at  the  same  time  an  express  arrived  from 
Capt.  Parr,  stating  that  he  was  in  possession  of  the 
heights  of  Schuylkill,  and  engaged  with  the  advance 
of  Gen.  Gray's  column;  and  a  messenger  also  ar- 
rived from  another  direction,  apprising  Lafayette  of 
the  position  of  Gen.  Grant.  Capt.  Stone,  of  the 
militia,  hearing  the  noise  of  the  British  column 
passing  in  the  night,  sprang  from  his  bed,  and  with- 
out waiting  for  his  clothing,  jumped  from  a  back 
window  and  hurried  across  the  country  toward 
Barren  Hill.  He  ran  till  he  fell  down  exhausted, 
and  then  the  message  was  taken  by  Richard  Burtle- 
son,  who  resided  near  Plymouth  Meeting-House,  and 
conveyed  to  Lafayette. 

Lafayette's  measures  were  conceived  with  prompt- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  43 

itude,  and  executed  with  wonderful  skill  and  preci- 
sion. While  Gen.  Grant  was  waiting  the  movement 
of  the  other  British  detachment,  Lafayette  formed, 
and  advanced  as  if  to  attack  Grant,  and  at  the  same 
time  sent  a  detachment  the  other  way,  as  if  to  check 
Gray.  While  Gen.  Lafayette's  front  was  advancing 
as  if  to  give  Grant  battle,  his  rear  was  fihng  off 
rapidly  to  the  Schuylkill.  So  skilfully  and  coolly 
was  the  affair  managed,  that,  though  Grant  was 
much  nearer  to  Matson's  Ford  than  Lafayette  was,  he 
was  so  busy  in  preparing  for  Lafayette's  charge  that 
he  did  not  once  think  of  securing  the  ford.  While 
Lafayette  was  advancing  toward  Grant,  he  was 
getting  all  the  time  nearer  the  ford  ;  and  so  capitally 
was  the  manoeuvre  performed,  that  Grant,  though 
apprised  that  a  portion  of  Lafayette's  command 
were  defiling  toward  the  river,  did  not  understand 
the  movement,  until,  pushing  on  to  Barren  Hill,  he 
found  the  American  camp  deserted.  He  then  fol- 
lowed the  retreating  Americans,  and  reached  Mat- 
son's  Ford  just  as  the  last  man  had  crossed,  and 
all  the  artillery,  stores,  &:c.,  were  safely  over,  and 
disposed  in  order  on  the  opposite  bank,  to  give  him 
the  compliments  of  the  day,  if  he  insisted  upon  it. 
The  foiled  troops  returned  to  Philadelphia,  the  ladies 


44  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

missed  the  appointment  which  Sir  William  Howe 
had  made  for  them  with  Lafayette,  and  the  generals 
arived,  not  only  without  their  promised  guest,  but 
too  late  for  their  own  suppers. 

During  these  evolutions,  the  danger  of  Lafayette 
was  perceived  from  the  camp  at  Valley  Forge,  and 
the  whole  army  was  put  under  arms,  to  act  if  neces- 
sary. The  manner  in  which  Lafayette  out-gene- 
ralled  the  British  officers,  and  escaped  with  less  than 
three  thousand,  from  seven  thousand  men,  after  he 
was,  to  all  appearances,  inextricably  hemmed  in,  was 
pronounced  well-timed  and  masterly ;  and  the  young 
major-general  was  regarded  with  high  admiration, 
not  only  by  the  American  army,  but  by  the  British. 
He  fell  into  the  difficulty,  as  we  have  noticed,  through 
the  neglect  of  his  orders  by  a  portion  of  his  com- 
mand, and  he  extricated  himself  from  it  with  the 
loss  only  of  about  nine  men — less  than  would  have 
fallen  had  he  intercepted  Grant  in  his  first  advance 
— and  with  such  distinguished  skill  that  the  affair 
could  only  be  regarded  as  a  fortunate  one. 

A  very  amusing  incident  occurred  at  this  time. 
A  party  of  fifty  Indians,  in  Lafayette's  detachment, 
were  placed  in  ambuscade  in  the  woods  near  Barren 
Hill.     A  party  of  fifty  dragoons  entered  the  ambus- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  45 

cade  at  the  head  of  a  column.  The  dragoons  had 
never  before  seen  Indians,  and  the  Indians  had 
never  seen  dragoons.  The  Indians  started  up  with 
a  hideous  yell,  and  throwing  down  their  arms,  swam 
the  Schuylkill ;  while  the  dragoons,  in  equal  fright 
and  astonishment,  wheeled  their  horses'  heads,  and 
did  not  recover  from  their  panic  until  their  return 
to  Philadelphia. 


46  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Sufterings  at  Valley  Forge — News  of  the  French  Treaties — Arrival  of 
British  Commissioners — Their  Letter  to  Congress — Insult  to  the 
French  King  —  Lafayette  challenges  the  Earl  of  Carlisle — Sir 
Henry  Clinton  evacuates  Philadelphia — Lafayette  charged  with  the 
Command  of  the  Force  to  harass  his  Rear — Battle  of  Monmouth — 
Gallant  Conduct  of  Lafayette — Interesting  Anecdote. 

HE  sufferings  of  the  American  troops 
encamped  at  Valley  Forge,  during 
the  winter  of  1777-8,  were  indeed 
most  discouraging  and  severe.  It  is 
said  that  thousands  of  them  were 
without  blankets;  that  at  one  time  during  the 
winter  three  thousand  were  off  duty  for  want 
of  clothes ;  and  that  footsteps  could  be  traced 
over  the  frozen  ground  and  snow,  by  the  blood 
from  naked  feet.  Several  times  during  this  bitter 
winter  it  was  feared  the  army  must  disband  for  want 
of  provisions ;  for  many  weeks  the  men  were  on 
half-allowance,  sometimes  without  bread  and  some- 
times without  meat.  At  the  very  moment  when 
Gen.  Washington  had  cares  so  serious  as  the  pre- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  47 

servation  of  his  force  under  circumstances  so  dis- 
couraging, a  cabal  was  seeking  his  displacement 
from  the  command ;  but  their  artifices  recoiled  upon 
themselves,  and  one  of  the  malcontents.  Gen.  Con- 
way, was  compelled  by  the  public  indignation  at  his 
intrigues  to  resign  his  commission.  On  a  subsequent 
day,  when  he  supposed  himself  dying,  he  dictated  a 
letter  to  Washington,  in  which  he  confessed  his 
error,  and  retracted  his  injurious  allegations  against 
the  commander-in-chief 

These  events  belong  more  properly  to  the  bio- 
graphy of  Washington,  and  we  have  alluded  to  them 
here,  to  show  how  opportune  was  the  arrival,  in  the 
month  of  May,  of  the  vessel  which  brought  the 
treaties  concluded  between  France  and  the  United 
States.  Lafayette  was,  of  course,  one  of  the  first 
in  the  American  army  who  received  the  intelligence, 
and  with  the  eloquent  enthusiasm  of  his  countrymen, 
he  embraced  Washington  in  a  transport  of  joy, 
mingled  with  tears :  "  The  king,  my  master,  has 
acknowledged  your  independence,  and  entered  into 
an  alliance  with  you  for  its  establishment !" 

The  tidings  flew  from  mouth  to  mouth ;  and  on 
the  5th  of  May  a  formal  rejoicing  was  held  in  the 
camp,  the  news  being  announced  to  each  brigade  by 
its  chaplain,  followed  with  a  feu-de-joie,  and  vivas 


48  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

for  the  French  monarch,  and  for  the  French  nation. 
A  proud  and  happy  day  must  this  have  been  for 
Lafayette  and  his  countrymen  in  the  American  ser- 
vice !  And  to  Lafayette,  individually,  the  news  must 
have  been  grateful  indeed,  as  approving  the  course 
which  he  had  early  taken,  and  removing  whatever 
civil  penalties  he  had  incurred.  In  the  sequel  it  will 
be  noticed  how  generously  and  heartily  he  improved, 
for  the  advantage  of  America,  the  increased  oppor- 
tunities which  the  position  of  France  and  America 
as  alhes  afforded  him.  It  is  unquestionably  the 
case,  also,  that  this  alliance,  though  not  produced, 
was  hastened  by  the  letters  which  the  Marquis  in 
America  wrote  to  his  connections  at  home. 

We  now  come  to  an  act  in  the  life  of  Lafayette, 
the  motives  of  which  cannot  be  questioned,  while 
the  act  itself  was  in  keeping  with  ideas  popular  at 
that  period,  now  essentially  changed  and  still  chang- 
ing. Three  commissioners  arrived  from  England, 
offering  terms  of  pacification  such  as  the  British 
Provinces  would  gladly  have  accepted,  but  which 
were  necessarily  rejected  by  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  which,  as  an  independent  nation,  could 
not  return  submission.  A  sentence  occurred  in  a 
letter  of  the  commissioners  to  Congress,  which 
created  an  immense  excitement  in  that  body,  and  on 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  49 

the  first  day  interrupted  the  reading.  The  offensive 
words  were  as  follows : — "  We  cannot  but  remark 
the  insidious  interposition  of  a  power,  which  has, 
from  the  first  settlement  of  the  colonies,  been  actu- 
ated by  enmity  to  us  both ;  and  notwithstanding  the 
pretended  date,  or  present  form  of  the  French  offers 
to  North  America,  it  is  notorious  that  they  have 
only  been  made,  because  it  was  believed  that  Great 
Britain  had  conceived  the  design  of  an  amicable  ar- 
rangement, and  with  a  view  to  prevent  reconcilia- 
tion, and  prolong  this  destructive  war." 

When,  in  reading  the  letter,  this  sentence  was 
reached,  such  a  clamour  arose  that  nothing  could  be 
heard.  A  debate  then  followed,  which  ended  in  the 
postponement  of  the  reading  until  the  next  day. 
The  debate  was  then  resumed  with  unabated  warmth, 
but  after  an  earnest  discussion  the  reading  of  the 
letter  was  concluded,  and  it  was  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee. In  their  report,  which  was  adopted  by  Con- 
gress, the  condition  of  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
independence  of  the  United  States  was  given,  as  the 
only  basis  upon  which  negotiation  could  commence. 
The  report  declared,  in  reference  to  the  obnoxious 
passage,  that  "nothing  but  an  earnest  desire  to 
spare  further  effusion  of  human  blood,  could  have 
induced  Congress  to  read  a  paper  containing  expres- 


50  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

sions  SO  disrespectful  to  his  Most  Christian  Majesty, 
the  good  and  great  ally  of  these  States,  or  to  con- 
sider propositions  so  derogatory  to  the  honour  of  an 
independent  nation." 

The  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  indignant  at  the  as- 
persion cast  upon  his  king  and  nation,  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,  as  the  head  of  the  commis- 
sion, in  which  he  held  him  personally  responsible, 
and  challenged  him  to  meet  him  according  to  the 
code  of  honour.  The  Earl  replied,  declining  to 
give,  in  a  public  and  national  matter,  that  satisfac- 
tion which  he  held  to  apply  exclusively  to  personal 
differences ;  and  in  this  reply  he  was  undoubtedly 
warranted  both  by  the  "  code  of  honour"  and  by 
common  sense.  Such  a  movement  on  the  part  of 
any  man  of  less  weight  of  character,  would  have 
exposed  the  challenger  to  ridicule;  but  Lafayette 
was  justly  esteemed,  respected,  and  beloved;  and 
while  the  reflecting  found  an  apology  for  the  act  in 
his  youth  and  patriotic  ardor,  the  proceeding  made 
him  more  popular  than  ever  with  the  army,  and 
none  disputed  the  high  character  of  his  motives. 

Upon  the  18th  day  of  June,  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
who  had  succeeded  Sir  William  Howe  in  the  com- 
mand of  the  British  army,  evacuated  Philadelphia, 
in  pursuance  of  the  orders  of  his  government,  and 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  51 

passed  over  into  Jersey.  The  American  army  on 
the  same  day  moved  from  Valley  Forge  and  crossed 
into  Jersey  also.  In  two  councils  held  by  General 
Washington,  before  and  after  moving  from  Valley 
Forge,  the  opinions  of  a  majority  of  his  officers 
were  found  to  be  decidedly  against  risking  a  general 
engagement.  Wayne  and  Cadwallader  were,  how- 
ever, in  favour  of  attacking  the  enemy,  and  Greene 
and  Lafayette  were  inclined  to  more  active  measures 
than  the  majority  seemed  willing  to  sanction. 
Washington  himself  was  decidedly  in  favour  of  an 
engagement,  and  determined  upon  the  attack  which 
led  to  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  upon  his  own  respon- 
sibihty. 

The  troops  under  Major-General  Dickenson,  Gen- 
erals Wayne,  Cadwallader,  and  Scott,  and  Colonel 
Morgan,  which  had  been  sent  forward  to  hang  upon 
the  rear  and  flanks  of  the  retreating  British,  amounted 
to  about  four  thousand  men ;  and  Washington  de- 
termined to  send  forward  another  detachment,  and 
unite  in  one  command  these  several  bodies.  The  duty, 
of  course,  devolved  upon  General  Lee ;  but  as  that 
officer  was  strongly  averse  to  hazarding  an  engage- 
ment, he  readily  gave  way  to  Lafayette,  upon  whom 
the  important  and  responsible  duty  was  imposed. 
But  he  had  hardly  marched  when  Lee  began  to  re- 


52  LIFEOFLAFAYETTE. 

gret  his  resignation  of  the  command ;  and  Wash- 
ington, to  save  his  feelings  without  wounding  La- 
fayette's, detached  him  with  two  brigades  to  support 
the  Marquis,  dividing  the  command  in  such  a  way 
as  to  save  the  points  of  military  etiquette. 

The  time  chosen  for  an  attack  on  the  British 
army  was,  when  it  had  reached  the  heights  of  Free- 
hold, or  rather,  when  it  broke  up  its  encampment 
and  moved  from  that  strong  position.  Bodies  of 
American  troops  hovered  on  the  flanks  of  the  Bri- 
tish army,  to  protect  the  country  from  ravage,  and 
Sir  Henry  Clinton's  movements  were  necessarily 
conducted  with  great  caution.  He  divined  some- 
thing of  the  intentions  of  the  American  troops,  and, 
before  he  descended  from  the  heights  into  the  narrow 
valley  which  he  must  next  pass  on  the  road  to  Mon- 
mouth, he  caused  his  baggage  to  be  sent  forward  to 
the  van,  and  placed  under  charge  of  Gen.  Knyphau- 
sen,  lest  it  should  encumber  him  in  the  attack,  which 
he  foresaw  would  be  made  upon  his  rear.  With 
his  convoy,  Knyphausen  was  to  gain  the  heights  of 
Middletown.  To  prevent  this  movement,  Major- 
General  Dickenson,  with  the  Jersey  militia,  and  Col. 
Morgan,  with  his  rifle  corps,  were  ordered  to  de- 
scend into  the  valley  and  attack  Knyphausen,  while 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  53 

Lee  attacked  the  rear,  commanded  by  Clinton  in 
person. 

At  daybreak  on  the  28th  of  June,  Knyphausen 
descended  with  the  baggage,  and  at  8  o'clock  Gen. 
Clinton  followed.  Lee  instantly  appeared  in  his 
rear,  and  giving  the  charge  of  attacking  the  cover- 
ing parties  of  the  rear  to  Gen.  Wayne,  attempted 
himself  to  gain  the  front  by  a  shorter  cut,  and  sepa- 
rate the  rear  from  the  line.  Before  this  plan  could 
be  executed,  Clinton,  perceiving  the  danger  of  Knyp- 
hausen, encumbered  with  so  much  heavy  baggage 
in  a  narrow  defile,  changed  his  front  and  determined 
instantly  to  attack  the  American  troops  who  were 
following  him,  in  order  to  compel  them  to  recall  the 
detachment  which  had  been  sent  to  capture  his 
baggage. 

Notwithstanding  the  ground  was  very  unfavour- 
able, Lee  prepared  to  engage.  There  was  a  morass 
in  his  rear,  which  would  impede  the  arrival  of  rein- 
forcements. A  portion  of  his  command,  however, 
mistook  his  intentions,  and  retreated  behind  the 
morass.  This  error  determined  Lee  to  withdrawal! 
his  force  to  the  same  position ;  and  he  might  have 
done  it  without  difficulty,  and  with  a  reputation  for 
skill,  only  that  he  neglected  to  inform  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, as  he  should  have  done,  of  his  in- 


54  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

tentions.  Washington,  riding  up  and  finding  Lee 
in  retreat,  spoke  to  him  with  much  warmth;  and 
Lee,  instead  of  explaining,  rephed  in  an  unbecoming 
manner. 

Washington  immediately  issued  orders  to  form 
and  check  the  advance  of  the  British.  Gen.  Lafay- 
ette, in  a  communication  made  to  Marshall,  the 
biographer  of  Washington,  relative  to  this  battle, 
says:  —  "Never  was  Gen.  Washington  greater  in 
war  than  in  this  action.  His  presence  stopped  the 
retreat.  His  dispositions  fixed  the  victory.  His 
fine  appearance  on  horseback,  his  calm  courage, 
roused  by  the  animation  produced  by  the  vexation 
of  the  morning,  gave  him  the  air  best  calculated  to 
excite  enthusiasm." 

Now  the  action  commenced  in  earnest.  The 
advance  of  the  British  was  repulsed ;  and  the  dis- 
position made  of  the  different  bodies  of  the  Ameri- 
can troops,  told  upon  the  enemy  with  such  effect, 
that  they  fell  back  to  the  ground  where  the  first 
skirmishing  had  commenced.  Lee  behaved  with 
such  gallantry  through  the  rest  of  the  engagement, 
that  nothing  but  his  own  irritation  and  subsequent 
disrespect  to  Gen.  Washington  would  have  produced 
the  sentence  of  suspension,  which  the  court-martial 
which  he  provoked   passed  upon  him.    No  public 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  55 

examination  would  have  taken  place  if  he  had  not 
forced  it  upon  his  commander ;  and  his  subsequent 
explanation  of  his  conduct  would  have  been  sufficient, 
had  he  condescended  to  give  it. 

The  vigorous  movements  of  the  Americans,  in 
forcing  the  British  to  recede,  had  driven  them  into 
a  position  so  strong,  that  night  suspended  operations 
before  the  Americans  could  succeed  in  making  any 
sensible  impression.  The  American  troops  slept 
with  their  arms  in  their  hands,  ready  to  recommence 
their  attack  at  daylight ;  but  the  British  army  man- 
aged to  move  off  in  so  much  silence  during  the  night, 
that  their  retreat  was  undetected.  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
in  his  official  account  claimed  the  victory,  basing 
the  claim  on  his  success  in  saving  his  baggage. 
The  Americans  also  claimed  the  battle.  It  is  thus 
weighed  by  Marshall : — "  In  the  early  part  of  the 
day  the  advantage  was  certainly  with  the  British ; 
in  the  latter  part  it  may  be  pronounced  with  equal 
certainty  to  have  been  with  the  Americans.  They 
maintained  their  ground,  repulsed  the  enemy,  were 
prevented  only  by  night  and  by  the  retreat  of  the 
hostile  army  from  renewing  the  action,  and  suffered 
less  in  killed  and  wounded  than  their  adversaries." 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  the  battle  of  Mon- 
mouth, was  eight  officers   and  sixty-one  privates 


56  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

killed,  and  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  wounded. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  reported  his  dead  at  four  officers 
and  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  privates — but  it  is 
known  that  nearly  three  hundred  were  buried.  His 
wounded  were  sixteen  officers  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty-four  privates.  The  heat  of  the  day  was  terrible, 
and  many  deaths  from  this  cause  took  place  on  both 
sides.  Besides  the  loss  in  this  action,  the  British 
army  lost  nearly  one  thousand  soldiers  by  desertion, 
in  the  march  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  and 
one  hundred  prisoners. 

Pursuit  was  not  attempted  after  the  battle  of 
Monmouth.  There  was  no  hope  of  successfully 
opposing  the  embarkation  of  the  British  troops; 
and  the  battle  of  Monmouth  had  created  an  impres- 
sion most  favourable  for  the  American  cause. 
Washington  was  highly  gratified  with  the  conduct 
of  the  troops  after  his  arrival  upon  the  ground. 
Congress  passed  a  resolution,  thanking  Washington 
for  the  activity  with  which  he  marched  from  Valley 
Forge,  and  for  the  manner  in  which  the  battle  was 
conducted ;  and  he  was  desired  to  express  the  thanks 
of  Congress  to  the  officers  and  men  under  his 
command. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that,  in  this  severe 
and  well-fought  action,  Lafayette  was  conspicuous 
for  his  courage,  coolness,  and  skill,  and  that  he  par- 


I .  I'i  )^ 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE  57 

ticipated  with  all  his  native  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  in 
the  toils  and  dangers  of  the  day.  Col.  Willett,  of 
New  York,  who  acted  as  a  volunteer  aid  to  Gen. 
Scott,  of  Virginia,  and  was  during  a  portion  of  the 
day  under  the  immediate  orders  of  Lafayette,  in  a 
letter  written  immediately  after  the  action,  says: 
"  I  have  been  charmed  with  the  blooming  gallantry 
and  sagacity  of  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  who  ap- 
pears to  be  possessed  of  every  requisite  to  constitute 
a  great  general." 

During  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  an  incident  oc- 
curred which  reflects  high  honour  upon  Sir  Henpy 
Clinton,  as  well  as  upon  the  courage  and  humanity 
of  Lafayette.  The  Marquis,  with  twenty  men,  ad- 
vanced toward  a  British  battery  to  reconnoitre.  A 
shot  killed  his  aid-de-camp  at  his  side.  The  party 
broke  and  fled  precipitately ;  but  Lafayette  did  not 
leave  the  wounded  man  till  he  had  ascertained  that 
his  wound  was  mortal,  and  received  his  dying  words. 
Sir  Henry,  who  knew  Lafayette  by  his  white  horse, 
prevented  the  gunners  from  firing  upon  him,  and 
thus  preserved  his  life.  Lafayette,  strong  perhaps 
in  the  consciousness  of  a  great  mind,  which  chal- 
lenges the  forbearance  of  an  enemy  while  in  the 
performance  of  the  duties  of  humanity,  slowly  fol- 
lowed his  party,  who  had  retreated  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  pieces. 


58 


LIFE     OP     LAFAYETT 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Arrival  of  Count  D'Estaing — Narrow  Escapes  of  the  British  Forces- 
Demonstrations  against  Newport  —  Unfortunate  Disagreement  be- 
tween  the  French  and  Americans — Refusal  of  D'Estaing  to  co-operate 
with  Sullivan — Visit  of  Generals  Hancock  and  Lafayette  to  Boston 
— Retreat  of  the  Americans  from  the  Siege  of  Newport — Retreat  from 
the  Island  to  the  Main  Land — Gallantry  of  Lafayette — His  embar- 
rassing Position  —Resolution  of  Congress — Difficulties  between  the 
French  and  American  Sailors — Lafayette  obtains  Leave  of  Absence 
^^Resolutions  of  Congress — Embarkation  of  Lafayette — Mutiny  on 
^([|Plird  the  Alliance — Noble  Conduct  of  the  Marquis. 

ARLYin  July  a  powerful  French  fleet, 
under  command  of  the  Count  D'Es- 
taing, arrived  upon  the  American 
coast.  An  unusually  long  passage 
of  eighty-seven  days  saved  the  Bri- 
tish fleet  and  army ;  for,  had  the  Count  found 
the  former  in  the  Delaware,  and  the  latter  at 
Philadelphia,  the  loss  of  both  would  have 
been  certain.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  still 
another  escape.  The  British  army,  in  its  retreat 
from  Philadelphia,  embarked  at  Sandy  Hook  for 
New  York.  During  the  winter  the  storms  had  made 
an  island  of  this  peninsula,  and  the  forces  were 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  59 

compelled  to  cross  over  from  the  main  land  on  a 
bridge  of  boats.  The  passage  was  effected  on  the 
very  day  Count  D'Estaing  arrived  with  his  fleet  off 
the  coast  of  Virginia.  Had  a  superior  fleet  to  the 
British  reached  Sandy  Hook,  the  embarkation  would 
have  been  impossible. 

Count  D'Estaing,  upon  examination  of  the  har- 
bour of  New  York,  decided  not  to  attack  the  Bri- 
tish there,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  his 
largest  ships  over  the  bar;  and  offensive  operations 
were  adjourned  to  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  where 
there  was  a  British  garrison  of  six  thousand  men. 
Lafayette  was  detached  with  two  brigades  to  join 
Gen.  Sullivan,  who  had  command  of  the  American 
army  in  Rhode  Island.  We  have  not  space  to  de- 
tail the  unfortunate  train  of  circumstances  which  led 
Count  D'Estaing  to  refuse  his  co-operation  with  the 
land  forces,  and  induced  him  to  proceed  with  his 
fleet  to  Boston.  It  is  sufficient  perhaps  to  say,  that 
they  originated  from  that  fruitful  source  of  difficulty, 
disputes  about  precedence  in  rank. 

The  desertion  of  D'Estaing  compelled  Gen.  Sul- 
livan to  raise  the  siege  of  Newport.  The  force  of 
the  enemy  amounted  to  six  thousand  men.  Sullivan 
had  at  one  time  ten  thousand ;  as,  with  every  pros- 
pect of  success  on  the  side  of  the  Americans,  the 


60  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

militia  hastened  to  join  him.  After  D'Estaing  sailed 
for  Boston,  refusing  even  to  leave  his  land  forces 
behind,  the  militia  were  so  disheartened  that  they 
disbanded  and  deserted,  until  Sullivan  had  scarce 
five  thousand  men  left.  One  day  the  entire  rout  and 
capture  of  the  British  army  seemed  certain ;  and  in 
consequence  of  a  service  so  distinguished  as  this 
promised  to  be,  the  Americans,  officers  and  men, 
looked  forward  to  mihtary  distinction  for  themselves, 
and  immense  advantages  to  their  cause  and  country. 
All  this  was  dashed  by  the  conduct  of  D'Estaing, 
and  Sullivan  was  compelled  to  raise  the  siege  of 
Newport,  in  which  town  it  seemed,  a  few  days  before, 
as  if  he  already  had  the  British  army,  in  everything 
but  name,  prisoners  of  war. 

Generals  Hancock  and  Lafayette  had  meanwhile 
proceeded  to  Boston,  the  former  to  expedite  the 
repairs  on  the  French  vessels,  the  latter  to  use  his 
influence  with  the  Count  D'Estaing.  It  was  feared, 
so  great  was  the  natural  feeling  of  exasperation 
against  the  Count,  that  the  means  of  repairing  the 
vessels  would  be  withheld.  All  New  England  had 
counted  on  the  capture  of  the  British  garrison  as 
sure ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  the  pubhc 
was  in  high  excitement  at  finding  this  hope  defeated 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  61 

by  D'Estaing's  punctilio,  even  after  everything  he 
had  asked  had  been  conceded. 

As  Sullivan  could  do  nothing  with  his  force,  he 
broke  up  his  camp  in  the  night,  and  retired  unob- 
served toward  the  north  of  the  island.  In  the  morn- 
ing, as  soon  as  his  retreat  was  discovered,  the  enemy 
pursued  him,  and  a  warm  action  took  place,  in  which 
the  British  were  repulsed  with  skill  and  spirit.  On 
the  morning  of  the  next  day,  August  29th,  a  can- 
nonade recommenced,  and  was  kept  up  during  the 
day,  but  neither  army  chose  to  attack  the  other. 
The  British  were  waiting  for  reinforcements ;  the 
Americans  had  secretly  resolved  to  retreat  from  the 
island ;  and  on  the  night  of  the  30th  they  accom- 
plished this,  without  having  excited  the  suspicions 
of  the  British.  Never  was  there  a  more  fortunate 
retreat,  for  on  the  very  next  day  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
arrived  with  ships  and  reinforcements,  which  would 
have  cut  off  the  escape  of  the  American  army  to 
the  continent. 

Lafayette,  by  great  personal  exertions,  rejoined 
the  army  just  in  season  to  take  charge  of  the  rear- 
guard, and  to  witness  the  tame  and  impotent  con- 
clusion of  an  enterprise,  which  had  been  carried  to 
the  very  eve  of  success.  Of  the  character  of  his 
services  the  reader  will  judge  by  the  following  reso- 


62  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

lution,  which  was  passed  by  Congress,  and  commu- 
nicated to  Lafayette  in  a  very  graceful  letter,  by  the 
presiding  officer: 

''^Resolved,  That  the  President  be  requested  to 
inform  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  that  Congress  have 
a  due  sense  of  the  sacrifice  he  made  of  his  personal 
feelings,  in  undertaking  a  journey  to  Boston,  with  a 
view  of  promoting  the  interests  of  these  States,  at  a 
time  when  an  occasion  was  daily  expected  of  his 
acquiring  glory  in  the  field ;  and  that  his  gallantry 
in  going  on  Rhode  Island,  when  the  greatest  part  of 
the  army  had  retreated,  and  his  good  conduct  in 
bringing  oflf  the  pickets  and  out-sentinels,  deserve 
their  particular  approbation." 

Lafayette  replied  in  an  appropriate  and  feeling 
manner,  to  this  expression  of  approval  and  confi- 
dence. His  situation  now  was  peculiarly  embarrass- 
ing. The  jealousy  and  chagrin  of  the  American 
officers  at  the  conduct  of  D'Estaing  could  not  be 
concealed.  Indeed,  Gen.  Sullivan  reflected  very 
severely  upon  the  French  allies  of  the  United  States 
in  his  general  orders;  and  it  was  by  the  merest 
accident  in  the  world,  that  some  letters  which  he 
wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  were  pre- 
vented from  being  publicly  read  in  the  Assembly. 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  63 

Gen.  Greene,  who  happened  to  be  present,  induced 
the  Speaker  to  withhold  them. 

Perhaps  at  no  time  during  the  war,  did  the  friend- 
ship of  Lafayette  do  the  country  greater  service, 
than  at  this  particular  and  most  awkward  juncture. 
While  the  Marquis  devoted  his  life  and  services  to  the 
cause  of  America,  he  retained  his  warm  and  patri- 
otic attachment  for  his  own  country.  Of  course  he 
sympathized  deeply  with  his  brother  officers,  in  the 
injuries  which  he  regarded  them  as  receiving,  from 
the  expressions  of  resentment  which  fell  from  the 
Americans.  The  French  officers  looked  to  Lafay- 
ette as  their  head,  and  the  giving  way  on  his  part 
to  resentment,  would  have  widened  the  breach  irre- 
parably. Gen.  Washington,  and  the  American  su- 
perior officers  generally,  and  the  local  authorities, 
laboured  hard  in  the  work  of  pacification ;  but  in 
spite  of  all  precaution,  a  riot  occurred  in  Boston 
between  some  x4.mericans  and  French,  in  which  the 
Chevalier  de  St.  Sauveur  was  killed  ;  and  in  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  a  far  more  serious  affi-ay  oc- 
curred, which  ended  in  a  formal  battle  between  the 
American  and  French  sailors.  The  latter  were 
driven  from  the  city,  and  repaired  to  their  ships, 
from  which  they  fired  upon  the  town.  The  Ameri- 
cans  answered   their  fire   from   the  wharves   and 


64  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

stores,  and  several  lives  were  lost  upon  both  sides. 
These  difficulties  were  ascribed  to  British  interfer- 
ence ;  and,  whether  that  charge  were  true  or  not,  it 
made  the  public  remember,  that  to  Great  Britain 
nothing  could  be  more  grateful  or  more  useful,  than 
enmity  between  America  and  France.  The  efforts 
of  the  leading  Americans,  seconded  by  Lafayette, 
at  length  prevailed,  and  the  unhappy  differences 
between  the  officers  of  the  two  countries,  were  pre- 
vented from  ripening  into  a  serious  quarrel.  Idle 
would  have  been  the  hope  of  reconcilation,  which 
depended  so  much  upon  Lafayette,  had  he  possessed 
the  choleric  temperament,  and  the  exacting  spirit, 
which  too  many  of  his  contemporaries  exhibited  on 
this,  as  on  other  occasions.  Such  failings  as  irasci- 
bility and  undue  self-love  too  often  mark  the  man  of 
real  courage.  As  to  the  actual  grounds  of  complaint 
against  D'Estaing,  we,  who  now  look  upon  these 
events  with  disinterested  eyes,  can  see  that,  though 
his  conduct  did  not  show  the  generous  and  ardent 
attachment  to  America  that  Lafayette  would  have 
exhibited,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  his  fleet  having 
been  disabled  in  a  storm,  he  had  a  right  to  prefer 
Boston  to  Newport,  for  the  purposes  of  repair; 
particularly  when,  in  so  doing,  he  followed  the  letter 
of  his  instructions. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  65 

On  the  13th  of  October,  1778,  Lafayette  applied 
to  Congress  for  permission  to  return  to  France,  "as 
a  soldier  on  leave  of  absence,  ardently  wishing  to 
rejoin  his  colours,  as  well  as  his  beloved  comrades." 
He  assigned  as  a  reason  for  desiring  to  return,  that 
as  France  was  engaged  in  war,  duty  and  patriotism 
induced  him  to  present  himself  to  his  sovereign,  in 
the  hope  that  the  post  assigned  to  him  would  re- 
quire him  to  resume  his  service  in  this  country. 
With  the  gracefulness  of  a  true  Frenchman,  he  re- 
marked :  "  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  speak  more 
appropriately  of  the  sentiments  which  attach  me  to 
my  own  country,  than  in  the  presence  of  citizens 
who  have  done  so  much  for  theirs." 

This  letter  to  Congress  from  Lafayette,  was  ac- 
companied by  one  from  Washington,  in  which  the 
highest  eulogies  upon  the  Marquis  were  expressed, 
and  the  wish  was  indicated  that  his  petition  should 
be  granted,  and  his  absence  placed  on  the  footing  he 
desired.  He  did  not  wish  to  leave  until  the  close  of 
the  campaign ;  and  an  important  object  of  his  visit 
to  France  was,  to  forward  the  interests  of  America 
at  the  Court,  where  his  standing,  always  influential, 
had  been  much  advanced  by  the  fame  which  he  had 
won  in  the  American  army.  It  was  considered, 
moreover,  that  though  the  difficulty  growing  out  of 

E 


66  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

the  Newport  affair  was  at  an  end  in  America,  it 
might  be  highly  expedient  to  have  a  French  advocate 
in  France,  who,  to  unquestioned  attachment  to  his 
own  nation,  united  warm  friendship  for  America 
and  her  cause. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  Congress  adopted  the 
draught  of  a  letter  of  recommendation  to  his  most 
Christian  Majesty,  the  King  of  France,  in  favour  of 
Lafayette,  and  passed  the  following  resolutions: 

'■'•Resolved,  That  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  major- 
general  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  have 
leave  to  go  to  France,  and  that  he  return  at  such 
time  as  shall  be  most  convenient  to  him. 

'■^Resolved,  That  the  President  write  a  letter  to 
the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  returning  him  the  thanks 
of  Congress  for  the  disinterested  zeal  which  led  him 
to  America,  and  for  the  services  he  hath  rendered 
to  the  United  States,  by  the  exertion  of  his  courage 
and  abilities  on  many  signal  occasions. 

^''Resolved,  That  the  minister  plenipotentiary  of 
the  United  States  at  the  Court  of  Versailles,  be 
directed  to  cause  an  elegant  sword,  with  proper 
devices,  to  be  made  and  presented  in  the  name  of 
the  United  States  to  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette." 

Mr.  Laurens,  the  President  of  Congress,  trans- 
mitted these  proceedings  to  Lafayette,  in  pursuance 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  67 

of  the  second  resolution  ;  and  Lafayette  acknow- 
ledged the  receipt  of  the  letter  in  appropriate  and 
grateful  terms.  He  did  not  embark  for  France, 
however,  until  the  month  of  January,  1779,  having 
been  detained  several  months  on  the  road  by  a 
severe  illness,  which  prevented  his  arrival  in  Boston 
until  the  close  of  December,  1778.  Even  when  he 
arrived,  it  was  found  that  the  Alliance,  of  32  guns,  in 
which  he  was  to  take  passage,  had  not  procured  her 
complement  of  men.  The  government  of  Massa- 
chusetts proposed  to  man  the  vessel  by  impressment 
— an  English  expedient,  which  had  been  more  than 
once  resorted  to  by  the  Americans  during  the  war. 
Lafayette,  in  whose  eventful  life  it  would  seem  that 
opportunity  was  afforded  to  exhibit  every  virtue 
which  his  character  embraced,  would  not  consent  to 
the  measure  of  impressment,  at  which  his  benevo- 
lence revolted.  The  difficulty  in  manning  the  Alli- 
ance arose  from  the  fact,  that  the  command  of  the 
vessel  had  been  given  to  Captain  Landais,  and  the 
prejudices  of  the  American  seamen  would  not  permit 
them  to  serve  under  a  Frenchman.  A  plan  was 
taken  to  man  the  vessel,  which,  as  Cooper,  the  naval 
historian,  well  remarks,  if  less  objectionable  than 
impressment,  on  the  score  of  principle,  was  scarcely 
less  so  in  every  other  point  of  view.     A  motley 


68  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

crew  was  made  up,  of  men  from  the  Somerset,  a 
British  man-of  war  which  had  been  wrecked  on  the 
coast,  of  volunteers  from  among  the  prisoners,  and 
a  number  of  deserters  from  the  French  fleet,  who 
made  their  public  appearance  after  Count  D'Estaing 
left  Boston. 

The  British  Parliament  having  passed  an  act, 
conferring  a  premium  upon  piracy,  murder,  and 
mutiny — to  wit,  giving  rewards  to  sailors  who  should 
run  away  with  American  vessels,  the  precious  ship's 
company  of  the  Alhance  concocted  a  mutiny,  which 
was  to  have  gone  into  effect  on  the  night  of  the  1st 
of  February;  the  first  and  last  mutiny,  if  we  except 
that  of  the  Somers,  which  was  ever  attempted  on 
board  an  American  national  vessel.  Such  disposi- 
tions were  made  that,  had  it  not  been  for  its  provi- 
dential discovery,  the  plot  could  hardly  have  failed. 
The  officers  and  passengers  once  collected  on  the 
quarter-deck  by  the  cry  of  "  sail-ho !"  and  secured, 
the  following  was  the  disposition  to  be  made  of  them: 
Captain  Landais  was  to  be  put  into  a  boat,  without 
food  or  water,  heavily  ironed,  and  set  adrift.  The 
gunner,  carpenter,  and  boatswain  were  to  have  been 
killed  at  once.  The  marine  officer  and  surgeon 
were  to  have  been  hanged,  quartered,  and  cast  into 
the  sea.    The  saihng-master  was  to  have  been  tied 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  69 

to  the  mizzen-mast,  scarified,  cut  in  small  pieces, 
and  thrown  overboard !  The  lieutenants  were  to 
have  been  compelled  to  work  the  vessel  into  some 
English  port,  then  within  two  days'  sail,  or  walk  the 
plank;  and  the  passengers  were  to  be  delivered  up 
as  prisoners  of  ^var  upon  the  arrival  of  the  vessel 
in  England.  Such  were  the  legitimate  fruits  of  an 
act  of  the  British  Parliament  —  a  body  which,  in 
dealing  with  America,  seemed  to  have  retrograded 
into  barbarism. 

Fortunately,  the  mutineers  made  a  confidant  of 
an  American,  whom  they  supposed  to  be  an  English- 
man. He  had  the  adroitness  so  to  receive  their 
communications,  that  he  was  adopted  as  a  ring- 
leader, and  found  no  difficulty  in  worming  their 
whole  secret  from  them.  He  procured  a  postpone- 
ment of  the  hour  to  strike,  till  four  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  day  after  the  night  originally  designated,  and  at 
three  managed  to  slip  into  the  cabin,  and  apprise 
Lafayette  and  Landais  of  what  was  going  forward. 
The  officers  and  passengers  instantly  rushed  on  deck 
with  drawn  swords.  The  American  and  French 
sailors  joined  them,  and  the  leading  mutineers  were 
instantly  seized.  Between  thirty  and  forty  of  the 
mutineers  were  put  in  irons ;  but  it  was  deemed  in- 
expedient to  arrest  more,  as  at  that  instant  a  sail 


70  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

hove  in  sight.  Landais  manoeuvred  as  if  intending 
to  attack  her,  but  permitted  her  to  escape ;  as  to 
go  into  an  engagement,  even  with  an  inferior  force, 
would,  in  the  condition  of  his  ship,  have  been  too 
hazardous.  Four  days  afterwards  the  AlHance  ar- 
rived at  Brest,  and  the  mutineers  were  put  in  a 
French  prison.  After  some  delay  they  were  ex- 
changed, principally  at  the  instance  of  the  high- 
minded  Lafayette,  who  felt  averse  to  treating  them 
as  natives,  owing  the  flag  allegiance,  would  have 
justly  deserved.  It  is  questionable,  however,  whether, 
after  the  sanguinary  and  diabolical  programme  they 
had  arranged,  these  men  really  merited  any  such 
clemency.  After  an  escape  like  this,  from  peril 
more  imminent  than  he  had  ever  before  encountered, 
it  will  readily  be  imagined  that  our  hero,  still  a 
mere  youth  of  twenty-two,  was  glad  to  touch  his 
native  shores  again. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  71 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Reception  of  Lafayette  in  France — Franklin's  Letter — Description  of 
the  Sword  ordered  by  Congress  —  Successful  Efforts  of  Lafayette 
with  the  French  Court — His  Return  to  America  and  hearty  Wel- 
come—  Effect  of  the  Tidings  he  brought  upon  the  Country — His 
Reception  by  Washington — Resolution  of  Congress — Arrival  of 
Count  Rochambeau  —  Lafayette's  Division — Treason  of  Arnold  — 
Operations  in  the  South — Well-timed  Munificence  of  Lafayette. 

HE  reception  of  Lafayette  in  his  own 
country  was  such  as  might  have 
been  expected  from  a  nation,  by  whom 
the  romantic  incidents  of  his  life,  and 
the  striking  traits  in  his  character, 
must  be  so  much  admired.  At  the  age  af 
twenty-two  the  leader  of  armies,  with  no 
hohday  renown,  and  the  counsellor  of  states- 
men, with  a  character  for  wisdom  as  great  as 
his  fame  for  courage,  the  people  idolized  him,  and 
the  court  and  nobility  were  proud  of  one  who  re- 
flected so  much  credit  upon  his  birth  and  patrician 
rank. 

Dr.  Franklin  fulfilled  the  pleasant  duty  in  which 
the  resolution  of  Congress  instructed  him,  in  a  most 


72  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

becoming  manner.  The  following  is  the  letter  from 
the  American  minister  to  Lafayette,  dated  at  Passy, 
August  24,  1779. 

"  Sir  : — The  Congress,  sensible  of  your  merit  to- 
wards the  United  States,  but  unable  adequately  to 
reward  it,  determined  to  present  you  with  a  sword, 
as  a  small  mark  of  their  grateful  acknowledgment. 
They  directed  it  to  be  ornamented  with  suitable 
devices.  Some  of  the  principal  actions  of  the  war 
in  which  you  distinguished  yourself  by  your  bravery 
and  conduct,  are,  therefore,  represented  upon  it. 
These,  with  a  few  emblematic  figures,  all  admirably 
well  executed,  make  its  principal  value.  By  the 
help  of  the  exquisite  artists  France  affords,  I  find  it 
easy  to  express  everything  but  the  sense  we  have  of 
your  worth,  and  our  obligations  to  you.  For  this, 
figures,  and  even  words,  are  found  insufficient.  I, 
therefore,  only  add  that,  with  the  most  perfect  esteem 
and  respect,  I  have  the  honour  to  be 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"B.  Franklin." 

The  sword  was  presented  to  the  Marquis  at  Havre, 
by  the  grandson  of  Dr.  Franklin.  The  principal 
ornaments  were,  representations  of  the  battle  of 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  73 

^ronmouth,  the  affair  at  Gloucester,  and  the  skilful 
retreats  from  Barren  Hill  and  Rhode  Island.  On 
one  side  of  the  handle  the  Marquis  was  represented 
as  wounding  the  British  Lion,  and  on  the  other  as 
receiving  a  branch  of  laurel  from  the  Genius  of 
America.  The  arms  of  Lafayette,  an  emblem  of 
America,  a  figure  of  Fame  holding  up  the  arms  of 
France,  and  a  representation  of  the  vessel  in  which 
the  young  Marquis  first  came  over,  completed  the 
ornamental  devices.  The  inscription  was  in  the 
simple  words,  "Presented  by  Congress  to  M.  le 
Marquis  de  Lafayette." 

As  his  country  was  now  engaged  in  war  with 
Great  Britain,  policy  seconded  the  efforts  which  he 
made  in  behalf  of  America ;  and  he  was  serving 
both  France  and  the  United  States  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, while  urging  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
war.  Nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  to  the 
French  nation  and  government,  than  the  dismem- 
berment of  the  British  Empire,  by  cutting  off  her 
colonies.  The  minister  of  France  at  Philadelphia, 
and  the  American  plenipotentiary  in  France,  Dr. 
Franklin,  ably  seconded  his  efforts;  the  national 
and  popular  feeling  was  in  favour  both  of  the  Mar- 
quis and  his  cause,  and  the  French  government  was 
prevailed  on  to  embark  heartily  in  the  war,  and  send 


74  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

a  formidable  fleet  and  army  to  the  aid  of  the  United 
States. 

Finding  no  active  employment  in  Europe,  and 
having  succeeded  so  well  in  his  great  object,  Lafay- 
ette embarked  for  America,  and  arrived  at  Boston 
in  the  latter  part  of  April,  1780.  The  day  of  his 
landing  was  one  of  public  rejoicing.  The  people 
turned  out  en  masse  to  welcome  their  chivalric  and 
noble  friend;  and  he  was  escorted  with  military 
pomp  and  salvoes  of  artillery,  to  the  house  which 
the  town  authorities  had  provided  for  his  accommo- 
dation. The  day  closed  with  an  exhibition  of  fire- 
works ;  and  a  disposition  was  shown  to  prolong  the 
festivities  which  his  return  with  such  high  hopes  had 
occasioned. 

But  the  Marquis  longed  to  be  in  action.  He  left 
Boston  at  the  earliest  hour  consonant  with  due 
courtesy,  and  hastening  to  head-quarters,  arrived 
there  on  the  12th  of  May.  Washington  received 
him  with  open  armsj  as,  indeed,  he  would  have 
done  had  the  Marquis  brought  nothing  but  himself, 
as  on  his  first  visit.  But  the  news  which  he  bore, 
that  the  troops  to  reinforce  the  French  army  in 
America  were  already  embarked  and  on  the  point 
of  sailing,  added  to  the  joy  with  which  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  whole  country. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  75 

On  the  13th  of  May  he  reported  himself  to  Con- 
gress, and  was  received  with  the  highest  marks  of 
distinction  and  regard.  The  following  resolution 
was  immediately  adopted : 

^^  Resolved,  That  Congress  consider  the  return  of 
the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  to  America,  to  resume  his 
command,  as  a  fresh  proof  of  the  disinterested  zeal 
and  persevering  attachment  which  have  justly  re- 
commended him  to  the  public  confidence  and  ap- 
plause ;  and  that  they  receive  with  pleasure  a  tender 
of  the  further  services  of  so  gallant  and  meritorious 
an  djfficer." 

New  spirit  was  infused  into  the  army  and  the 
people  by  the  arrival  of  the  Marquis,  and  the  intel- 
ligence that  the  PVench  nation  were  about  to  sup- 
port their  American  allies  in  hearty  earnest.  Con- 
gress and  the  several  State  Legislatures,  the  officers 
of  the  army,  and  all  other  men  of  influence,  used 
every  means  to  foster  and  encourage  the  enthusiasm 
which  was  re-awakened.  About  the  middle  of  June 
the  Count  de  Rochambeau  arrived  at  Rhode  Island 
with  between  six  and  seven  thousand  troops,  and 
Admiral  Tornay  with  seven  ships  of  the  line  and 
several  frigates. 

Lafayette  was  appointed  to  command  the  van  of 
Washington's  army.     The  van-guard  was  selected 


76  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

from  the  different  corps,  principally  of  light  infantry, 
with  a  troop  of  horse,  and  a  major's  command  of 
artillery.  Lafayette  made  this  select  division  the 
pride  of  his  heart ;  and  in  their  turn  they  idolized 
their  commander.  He  formed  and  drilled  them  ac- 
cording to  his  own  wishes  and  excellent  military 
knowledge,  and  they  were  admitted  to  be  equal  to  any 
corps  in  the  army.  He  did  not  spare  his  own  purse, 
and  his  troops  made  a  better  appearance  than  any 
others  in  the  service.  They  were  better  clothed,  and 
the  uniforms  of  both  officers  and  soldiers  was  prin 
cipally  furnished  at  the  expense  of  the  Marquis. 
The  officers  were  armed  with  espontoons,  and  fur- 
nished with  short  and  light  sabres,  brought  from 
France  and  presented  by  Lafayette.  The  subalterns 
were  provided  with  fusils.  The  soldiers  wore  hel- 
mets of  hard  leather,  with  a  crest  of  horse-hair. 
The  dragoons,  commanded  by  Col.  Henry  Lee,  were 
better  mounted  than  any  others  in  the  army,  and 
had  gained  several  advantages  over  the  British, 
whom  they  did  not  fear  to  meet. 

The  events  of  this  campaign,  though  by  no  means 
adverse,  did  not  justify  the  high  expectations  with 
which  it  opened.  The  second  division  of  the  French 
fleet,  which  was  to  have  followed  Tornay,  and  would 
have   given  him  a  decided  naval  superiority  ovei 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  77 

the  enemy,  was  blockaded  in  Brest  by  a  heavy 
squadron,  while  reinforcements  arrived  to  the  British 
in  America.  But  Washington  succeeded  in  keeping 
the  British  shut  up  in  New  York,  which  was  a  great 
advantage,  though  marked  with  no  signal  achieve- 
ments. 

During  this  year  occurred  the  treason  of  Arnold 
and  its  providential  detection.  We  forbear  to  re- 
count the  particulars  of  events  so  well  known  to 
every  reader  as  these.  In  the  board  of  officers 
which  decided  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate  Andre, 
besides  many  distinguished  American  officers,  were 
Lafayette  and  Baron  Steuben.  To  Lafayette  the 
performance  of  this  duty  was  distressing  indeed. 
The  candour,  openness,  and  magnanimity  of  Andre 
made  upon  his  mind  the  most  favourable  impres- 
sions ;  but  he  found  himself  compelled  to  unite  in 
the  decision  which  pronounced  him  a  spy.  He 
deeply  shared  in  the  sympathy,  which  was  universal 
among  the  officers  of  the  American  army,  for  the 
young,  brave,  and  accomplished  officer.  But  "  stern- 
visaged  war"  makes  many  requirements  upon  its 
best  conductors  at  which  their  nature  revolts,  while 
policy,  usage,  and  duty  impose  their  fulfilment. 
It  is  a  maxim — as  true  now  as  then — that  the  man 
who  exposes   himself  as   Andre  did,  understands 


78  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

the  penalty,  if  captured,  before  he  undertakes  the 
perilous  service. 

The  state  of  inactivity  which  the  duties  of  the 
army  near  New  York  required,  httle  harmonized 
with  the  ardent  temperament  of  Lafayette,  and  he 
obtained  permission  to  join  Gen.  Greene  in  the 
South.  But  while  on  his  way  he  was  detained  at 
Philadelphia,  to  take  part  in  concerting  the  co-ope- 
ration of  the  French  fleet,  then  in  the  West  Indies, 
with  the  forces  of  the  allies  in  America.  These 
arrangements,  it  may  here  be  remarked,  resulted 
finally  in  the  capture  of  Cornwallis. 

xA-fter  this  important  business  was  concluded,  La- 
fayette again  set  out  to  join  Gen.  Greene,  but  w-as 
recalled  by  Washington,  to  take  command  of  an 
expedition  against  Arnold,  who  was  devastating 
Virginia,  as  if  ambitious  to  add  the  character  of 
bandit  to  that  of  traitor.  His  treason  had  been 
rewarded  with  a  commission  as  brigadier-general  in 
the  royal  army.  Lafayette  proceeded  with  his  de- 
tachment to  the  head  of  the  Elk,  and  thence  to 
Annapolis,  where  he  was  to  have  found  a  convoy 
from  the  French  fleet  to  proceed  to  Virginia. 
Meanwhile,  the  French  and  English  squadrons  had 
met  off"  the  capes  of  Virginia,  and  after  the  engage- 
ment the  French  commander  returned  with  his  ves- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  79 

sels  to  Newport.  Thus  Arnold  escaped  capture, 
even  after  his  defeat  had  been  deemed  so  certain, 
that  Lafayette  was  instructed  not  to  enter  into  any 
capitulation,  which  included  a  reservation  in  favour 
of  the  traitor.  This  expedition  having  thus  mis- 
carried, Lafayette  again  received  orders  to  join  the 
army  in  the  South. 

But  before  the  Marquis  had  time  to  obey  he  was 
again  countermanded.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  des- 
patched a  detachment  of  two  thousand  men,  under 
Gen.  Phillips,  to  the  relief  of  Arnold ;  and  Lafay- 
ette again  received  orders  to  take  command  of  the 
army  in  Virginia.  Gen.  Phillips  on  his  arrival  at 
Portsmouth,  where  Arnold  then  was,  took  command 
f>f  the  British  troops ;  and  thus,  as  has  before  been 
noted,  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  had  charge  of  an 
army,  operating  against  troops  commanded  by  the 
officer,  before  whose  batteries  his  father  fell  at 
Minden. 

Lafayette's  first  object  was  to  prevent  the  junction 
of  Gen.  Phillips  and  Cornwallis,  who  was  now  ad- 
vancing from  the  south  into  Virginia.  It  was  im- 
possible to  carry  the  troops  from  Elk  Head,  where 
they  were,  by  water,  as  the  British  had  now  com- 
mand of  the  bay,  and  they  were  accordingly  marched 
over  land  to  Baltimore.     The  soldiers  were  drawn 


80  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

chiefly  from  the  Eastern  regiments,  and  were  most 
averse  to  a  southern  climate.  When  first  detailed 
from  New  York,  it  was  under  the  impression  that 
the  service  would  require  only  a  short  time.  They 
were  unprovided  with  clothing,  and  in  a  state,  as 
Lafayette  expressed  it,  of  "shocking  nakedness." 
Without  tents  or  baggage,  murmuring  at  being  hur- 
ried off  without  preparation,  infested  with  a  nau- 
seous and  dangerous  disease,  produced  by  their  lack 
of  clothing,  and  consequent  forced  inattention  to 
neatness,  they  were  in  a  case  deplorable  indeed. 
The  expedition  against  Arnold  they  had  not  so  much 
objected  to ;  but  now  that  they  saw  they  were  des- 
tined to  long,  service  in  a  climate  that  they  dreaded, 
desertions  commenced  to  a  disheartening  extent,  ana 
the  Marquis  found  his  command  in  a  most  delicate 
position,  requiring  the  utmost  tact,  and  the  most 
patient  forbearance.  He  deeply  sympathized  with 
them  in  the  adverse  circumstances  in  which  they 
stood ;  and  in  a  letter  to  Gen.  Greene  urged  every 
exculpatory  circumstance  in  their  favour,  and  said 
he  was  obliged  to  reward  with  one  hand  while  he 
punished  with  the  other. 

Ever  a  favourite  with  the  army,  Lafayette  tested 
his  influence  to  the  utmost.  He  made  most  ener- 
getic and  urgent  addresses  to  the  soldiers,  earnestly 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  81 

appealing  to  their  generous  and  honourable  feelings 
and  impulses.  By  skilful  encouragentient  he  stayed 
at  last  their  desponding  spirit,  and  crowned  his 
words  with  actions,  which  at  once  marked  his  sin- 
cerity and  relieved  their  pressing  necessities.  When 
the  credit  of  Congress  was  so  low  that  nothing 
could  be  procured  upon  its  promises,  the  merchants 
of  Baltimore  accepted  Lafayette's  pledge  for  ten 
thousand  dollars.  Shoes,  linen,  hats,  and  other 
articles  of  immediate  necessity,  were  purchased  for 
the  troops;  and  the  ladies  of  Baltimore  went  to 
work  with  a  will  to  prepare  the  clothing.  With  this 
generosity  of  their  commander,  and  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  ladies,  who  vied  with  each  other  in  industry, 
the  spirits  of  the  troops  were  rallied,  and  their  minds 
were  reconciled  to  the  service.  Without  this  timely 
provision,  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  proceed. 

Nor  did  the  address  of  the  Marquis  stop  here. 
Anxious  to  gain  time,  and  also  to  relieve  his  soldiers 
from  fatigue,  he  procured  carts,  and  wagons,  and 
every  description  of  vehicle  which  could  be  obtained, 
and  in  these  hurried  the  troops  to  Richmond ;  thus 
saving  the  men  from  fatigue,  and  giving  their  pro- 
gress more  the  air  of  a  frolic  than  of  a  march. 

He  did  not  arrive  at  Richmond  a  moment  too  soon. 
At  this  place  were  collected  the  principal  part  of  the 

F 


82  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

military  stores  of  the  State,  which  would  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  Gen.  Phillips,  but  for  Lafayette's 
timely  arrival.  On  the  day  on  which  he  reached 
Richmond,  the  British  force,  under  Phillips  and 
Arnold  appeared  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 
From  Petersburg  up  to  Richmond,  the  British  had 
burned  and  destroyed  all  the  tobacco  warehouses, 
vessels,  and  other  property  in  their  reach;  and 
nothing  but  the  timely  arrival  of  Lafayette,  after  a 
forced  march  of  two  hundred  miles,  and  his  junction 
with  Steuben,  saved  Richmond  also  from  the  torch. 
The  consummate  tact  and  ability  which  Lafayette 
had  exhibited  under  such  discouragements,  added 
new  laurels  to  his  fame.  The  mere  restoration  of 
the  troops  to  order  and  discipline,  would  of  itself 
have  been  a  most  remarkable  feat ;  but  the  subse- 
quent celerity  of  his  movements,  and  the  essential 
benefit  which  he  conferred  upon  the  country  by 
his  energetic  promptness,  was  the  theme  of  every 
tongue. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  83 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Lafayette  ordered  to  the  South — Countermanded  to  Virginia — Death 
of  Gen.  Phillips,  and  Refusal  of  Lafayette  to  recognise  Arnold — 
Advance  of  Cornwallis — Skilful  Manoeuvres  of  Lafayette — Affair  at 
Albemarle  —  Retreat  of  Cornwallis  to  Williamsburg  —  Affair  at 
James  River — Daring  Intrepidity  of  Wayne — Retreat  of  Cornwallis 
to  Portsmouth — Occupation  of  Yorktown  by  the  British — Arrival  of 
Count  de  Grasse — Cornwallis  hemmed  in — Arrival  of  Washington 
and  Rochambeau — Influence  of  Lafayette  with  the  French  Naval 
Commander — Siege  of  Yorktown  —  Capitulation  of  Cornwallis — 
Magnanimity  of  the  American  Soldiers. 

HE  combined  forces  of  Lafayette  and 
Steuben  now  amounted  to  about  three 
thousand  men.      To  Baron  Steuben 
had  originally  been  confided  the  com- 
mand of  the  operations  in  Virginia ; 
but  he  gave  way  to  Lafayette  with  a  magna- 
nimity of  self-sacrifice,  which,  as  has  justly 
been  remarked,  forms  not  the  least  of  his 
claims  upon  the  gratitude  of  the  American 
people. 

Gen.  Philhps  deemed  it  not  advisable  to  cross  the 
river  at  Richmond ;  but  fell  back,  still  watched  by 
Lafayette,  until  he  received  orders  from  Lord  Corn- 


84  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

wallis  to  take  possession  of  Petersburg,  and  there 
await  his  arrival.  Divining  his  intention,  Lafayette 
pushed  forward  to  intercept  him,  but  Gen.  Phillips 
reached  the  place  first  and  took  possession  of  it ; 
and  this  was  the  last  military  act  of  his  hfe,  as  he 
died  of  a  malignant  fever  on  the  very  day  of  entering 
Petersburg.  Arnold  now  assumed  the  command, 
and  addressed  a  letter  to  Lafayette.  The  Marquis, 
who  had  no  sympathy  with  traitors,  treated  the 
English  officer  who  came  with  the  flag  of  truce  in 
all  respects  with  great  politeness,  but  declined  to 
receive  any  letter  from  Benedict  Arnold.  Lafayette 
crossed  the  river  and  withdrew  to  the  vicinity  of 
Richmond ;  and  when,  on  the  24th  of  May,  Lord 
Cornwallis  reached  Petersburg,  finding  that  he  was 
entirely  too  weak  in  numbers  to  cope  with  the 
British  force,  he  receded  as  Cornwallis  advanced, 
making  his  movements  with  such  celerity  and  cau- 
tion, that  though  Cornwallis  had  boasted  "  the  boy 
cannot  escape  me,"  he  was  soon  induced  to  abandon 
the  pursuit,  and  turn  to  enterprises  more  easy  of 
accomplishment.  He  despatched  two  bodies  of  men 
under  Tarleton  and  Simcoe,  one  to  destroy  certain 
stores  at  the  confluence  of  the  Rivanna  and  Flu- 
vanna, the  other  to  seize  the  members  of  the  State 
Legislature  at  Charlottesville.      The    Legislature 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  85 

had  a  narrow  escape,  but  all  the  stores  were 
destroyed. 

Cornwallis  now  moved  for  Albemarle  Court- 
House,  where  was  a  military  depdt.  Lafayette, 
who  had  now  effected  a  junction  with  the  Peimsyl- 
vania  Line,  under  Gen.  Wayne,  thus  reinforced,  ad  • 
vanced  and  encamped  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
British  army,  and  within  a  day's  march  of  the  point 
at  which  both  were  aiming — the  British  army  being 
between  Lafayette  and  the  stores.  The  British 
general  posted  his  troops  so  as  to  command  the 
road  which  it  was  supposed  the  Americans  must 
pass ;  but  was  astonished  and  mortified  to  find  in 
the  morning,  that  Lafayette  was  posted  in  a  strong 
position  between  the  British  force  and  Albemarle 
Court-House,  where  the  stores  were  deposited.  The 
Americans  had  discovered  and  opened  a  difficult 
road  in  the  night,  and  made  the  detour  which  gave 
them  the  advantage  of  Cornwalhs.  At  this  place, 
considerable  reinforcements  of  militia  joined  the 
Americans.  Lafayette's  force  was  now  about  four 
thousand  men ;  that  of  Cornwallis  five  at  least,  if 
not  six  or  eight  thousand. 

Cornwalhs  now  fell  back,  first  to  Richmond,  and 
then  to  Williamsburg.  Lafayette  cautiously  fol- 
lowed, seeking  opportunities  for  skirmishing  and 


86  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

partial  encounters,  but  avoiding  a  general  engage- 
ment. A  sharp  action  took  place  near  Williams- 
burg, in  which  the  Americans  gained  a  partial  ad- 
vantage, but  retreated  when  they  found  the  whole 
British  army  in  motion  towards  them.  About  the 
end  of  June  some  of  Washington's  correspondence 
was  intercepted,  which  betrayed  the  intentions  of 
Washington  upon  New  York.  In  consequence  of 
this,  Sir  Henry  Chnton,  alarmed  for  New  York, 
ordered  a  portion  of  the  army  of  Cornwallis  to  the 
north  ;  and  that  commander  retreated  from  Wil- 
liamsburg to  Portsmouth. 

The  morning  after  Cornwallis  left  Williamsburg, 
Lafayette  pressed  on  to  attempt  his  rear.  Corn- 
wallis, suspecting  his  design,  arranged  his  move- 
ments accordingly.  Lafayette's  plan  was,  to  attack 
the  rear  after  the  main  body  had  crossed  the  ford 
to  the  island  of  Jamestown.  Cornwallis,  whose 
baggage  had  already  gone  over,  kept  the  larger 
portion  of  his  troops  on  the  main  land,  so  closely 
crowded  that  they  appeared  but  as  a  covering  party 
for  the  rear,  while  the  few  who  were  on  the  island 
were  spread  out  in  such  a  manner  as  to  magnify 
their  numbers.  Every  manoeuvre  was  conducted 
with  the  same  view;  but  Lafayette  was  led  to  sus- 
pect something  more  than  met  the  eye,  from  the 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  87 

obstinacy  with  which  an  advanced  outpost  was  de- 
fended. He  judged  from  this  circumstance,  that  the 
advanced  party  must  have  something  more  important 
to  do  than  merely  to  defend  the  rear-guard.  Their 
true  object  was,  to  keep  the  Americans  at  bay  till 
the  stratagem  was  ripe. 

The  Marquis  then  resolved  to  reconnoitre  the 
British  camp,  and  soon  detected  the  ruse.  Mean- 
while Gen.  Anthony  Wayne,  in  attempting  to  cap- 
ture a  piece  of  artillery,  found  himself  engaged  with 
the  whole  British  army.  The  quick  apprehensions 
of  "  Mad  Anthony"  dictated  to  him  at  once  the 
boldest  as  the  safest  measure ;  and  when  he  found 
the  whole  British  force  formed  and  moving  toward 
him,  he  gallantly  charged  with  his  eight  hundred 
men,  as  if  he  had  eight  thousand  to  support  him, 
Lafayette,  who  now  hurried  up,  ordered  Wayne  to 
fall  back  in  a  line  with  the  infantry,  who  were  drawn 
up  about  half  a  mile  in  his  rear;  and  the  whole 
party  then  saved  itself  behind  a  morass.  The 
boldness  of  this  attack,  and  the  time  at  which  it 
was  made,  the  close  of  the  day,  led  Cornwallis  to 
suspect  that  an  ambuscade  was  prepared,  into  which 
it  was  intended  by  this  manoeuvre  to  lead  him.  He 
therefore  would  permit  no  pursuit,  but  in  the  course 
of  the  night  passed  the  ford  to  Jamestown,  and 


88  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

thence  retreated  to  Portsmouth.  The  loss  of  the 
Americans  in  this  gallant  affair  was  one  hundred 
and  eighteen  men,  ten  of  whom  were  officers. 

At  the  close  of  this  difficult  campaign,  Lafayette's 
fame  stood  still  higher  than  before.  To  his  reputa- 
tion for  chivalric  courage,  he  had  added  a  character 
for  skill  and  prudence  worthy  of  a  Fabius.  With 
the  stores  committed  to  his  defence,  scattered  over 
different  and  assailable  points,  he  had  preserved  a 
good  portion  of  them ;  and  with  a  skilful  general, 
possessing  a  superior  force,  pressing  upon  him,  he 
had  avoided  a  general  engagement  with  such  tact, 
and  manoeuvred  with  such  caution,  as  reflected 
honour,  not  only  upon  himself,  but  upon  the  com- 
mander-in-chief who  had  entrusted  so  important  a 
duty  to  him.  In  Lee's  Memoirs  we  find,  in  reference 
to  this  campaign,  the  following  eloquent  tribute  to 
the  gallant  Marquis: — "Invigorating  our  councils 
by  his  precepts,  dispelling  our  despondency  by  his 
example,  and  encouraging  our  troops  to  submit  to 
their  privations,  by  the  cheerfulness  with  which  he 
participated  in  their  wants,  he  imparted  the  energy 
of  his  own  mind  to  the  country,  and  infused  his  own 
high-toned  spirit  into  his  army.  His  efforts  were 
crowned  with  success ;  and  the  young  Frenchman, 
with  the  judgment,  skill,  and  prudence  of  a  veteran, 


LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE.  89 

seared  the  laurels  of  that  British  general,  who,  in 
the  north  and  in  the  south,  in  the  cabinet  and  in  the 
field,  had  stood  pre-eminent — the  bulwark  of  Great 
Britain,  the  terror  of  America." 

Cornwallis  upon  reaching  Portsmouth  proceeded 
to  embark  the  troops  which  were  intended  for  New 
York.  Orders  arrived,  however,  countermanding 
the  movement,  a  reinforcement  of  Hessians  received 
at  New  York  having  changed  Sir  Henry  Clinton's 
plans.  Lord  Cornwallis  in  the  month  of  August 
concentrated  his  force  at  York  and  Gloucester,  where 
he  applied  his  attention  to  intrench  himself  in  the 
strongest  possible  manner.  Lafayette  took  a  posi- 
tion in  the  county  of  New  Kent,  in  order  to  harass 
the  British  out-posts,  and  prevent  foraging  parties 
from  scouring  the  country. 

Washington  had,  meanwhile,  been  making  a  num- 
ber of  demonstrations  at  New  York.  He  had 
changed  his  plan  as  to  making  a  serious  attack  upon 
that  city,  but  concealed  his  purpose  from  the  British, 
in  order  that  they  might  not  penetrate  his  real  de- 
sign, which  was  to  march  against  Cornwallis.  La- 
fliyette  was  ordered  to  make  such  a  disposition  of 
his  forces  as  to  prevent  the  British  general  from 
saving  himself  by  a  sudden  march  to  Charleston. 

The  French  fleet,  under  command  of  Count  de 


90  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

Grasse,  arrived  early  in  September  in  the  Chesa- 
peake, and  landed  a  force  which  put  it  in  the  power 
of  Lafayette  to  advance  upon  and  alarm  his  adver- 
sary. Cornwallis  immediately  made  dispositions  to 
retreat  to  South  Carolina.  A  few  days  after  the 
British  fleet  arrived  under  Admiral  Greaves,  and 
Count  de  Grasse  stood  out  of  the  Chesapeake,  and . 
engaged  him  in  an  indecisive  action.  For  five  days 
the  two  fleets  continued  in  sight  of  each  other;  and 
Count  de  Grasse,  having  the  weather-gage,  could  at 
any  time  have  renewed  the  engagement — but  no 
such  step  was  necessary  or  politic.  The  squadron 
under  Greaves  returned  to  New  York ;  and  Count 
de  Grasse  proposed  to  put  to  sea  in  quest  of  the 
British  fleet,  leaving  a  few  vessels  in  the  Chesa- 
peake, but  by  an  earnest  representation  of  the  risks 
of  such  a  movement  he  was  induced  to  remain.  He 
had  endeavoured  to  persuade  Lafayette  to  a  brilliant 
but  hazardous  movement.  He  offered  to  aid  the 
Marquis,  not  only  with  all  the  marines  of  the  fleet, 
but  with  as  many  seamen  as  he  should  require,  if 
he  would  immediately  attack  York  and  Gloucester, 
while  the  works  were  incomplete.  A  full  excuse 
would  have  been  found  for  the  attempt,  in  the  de- 
claration of  De  Grasse,  that  he  could  not  wait  for 
the  arrival  of  the  troops  from  the  north  j  and  the 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  91 

attack,  if  successful,  would  have  added  a  brilliant 
chaplet  to  the  military  fame  of  Lafayette.  But  he 
refused  to  sacrifice  the  lives  of  the  soldiers  entrusted 
to  his  charge,  and  used  all  his  influence  to  induce 
De  Grasse  to  remain  until  the  arrival  of  Washington 
and  Rochambeau,  when  the  capture  of  Cornwallis 
would  be  sure,  and  unattended  with  so  great  an 
eflTusion  of  blood. 

Cornwallis  was  now  effectually  hemmed  in.  When 
the  French  fleet  left  the  Chesapeake  for  a  few  days, 
as  has  been  mentioned,  he  delayed  the  steps  he  had 
taken  for  a  retreat.  Now  that  De  Grasse  had  re- 
turned, and  had  ilso  been  joined  by  Count  de  Barras, 
with  eight  ships  of  the  line,  and  fourteen  transports 
laden  with  the  proper  military  stores ;  while  the 
whole  country  to  the  south  was  up  in  arms,  and 
Greene  was  also  advancing  to  receive  him ;  and 
while  the  active  measures  taken  by  Lafayette  and 
Governor  Burke  had  cut  off  the  means  of  trans- 
portation, and  also  of  support  on  the  march,  Corn- 
wallis, discovering  that  he  was  completely  caught  in 
the  toils,  now  gave  his  whole  attention  to  fortifying 
his  position. 

Gen.  Washington  and  Count  Rochambeau,  by 
forced  marches,  reached  Lafayette's  head-quarters 
at  Williamsburg  on  the  fourteenth  of  September 


92  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

The  plan  of  the  siege  was  concerted  with  Count  de 
Grasse  ,•  but  after  all  was  arranged,  the  Count  re- 
ceived intelligence  of  the  arrival  at  New  York  of 
six  more  ships  of  the  hne,  and  believing  that  the 
British  would,  with  this  addition  to  their  force, 
hazard  everything  to  relieve  Cornwallis,  he  desired 
to  change  his  position  into  one  better  adapted  to 
receive  the  enemy.  Here  again  the  influence  of 
Lafayette  was  exerted  with  most  happy  results. 
He  waited  on  the  Count  de  Grasse  with  a  letter 
from  Washington,  and  adding  his  personal  argu- 
ments and  entreaties,  dissuaded  him  from  leaving 
the  Chesapeake  —  a  movement  which  would  have 
permitted  Cornwallis  to  escape.  The  immense  be- 
nefits which  resulted  from  the  capture  of  Cornwallis, 
which  was  in  effect  the  close  of  the  war,  make  the 
services  which  Lafayette  rendered  in  this  particular 
case,  enough  to  entitle  him  to  the  everlasting  grati- 
tude of  the  American  nation,  had  he  done  nothing 
else. 

The  last  division  of  the  allied  army  reached 
Williamsburg  on  the  25th  day  of  September ;  and 
Washington  now  proceeded  immediately  to  invest 
Yorktown  and  Gloucester.  The  erection  of  the 
works  of  the  besiegers  was  commenced  on  the  night 
of  the  6th  of  October,  and  by  the  11th  the  works 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 


93 


were  so  far  advanced,  that  the  batteries  of  the  Bri- 
tish were  dismantled,  and  their  ordnance  dismounted 
in  ahnost  every  direction.  The  shells  and  hot  balls 
even  reached  the  British  vessels  in  the  harbour,  and 
several  were  destroyed  by  fire.  The  works  of  the 
American  army  were  now  advanced  within  three 
hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's  lines ;  and  Cornwalhs 
deluged  them  uith  bombs  and  balls,  causing  more 
destruction  than  at  any  other  time. 

To  invest  a  fortified  town  in  a  regular  siese,  works 
are  constructed  against  it  which  in  mihtary  language 
are  called  "  parallels."  Two  of  these  were  con- 
structed by  Washington ;  the  first  was  finished,  and 
the  second  in  great  forwardness  before  the  11th — 
the  principal  work  being  done  in  the  night  and  in 
great  silence.  The  first  was  done  on  the  night  of 
the  6th,  the  other  on  the  night  of  the  1 1th  of  October 
But  the  second  and  nearest  to  the  British  was  ex 
posed  to  the  raking  fire  of  two  redoubts,  which  if 
became  necessary  to  silence ;  and  Washington  de- 
termined to  do  this  by  assault  with  the  bayonet. 
On  the  night  of  the  fourteenth  of  October  both  were 
attacked  at  once ;  one  by  a  detachment  of  Ameri- 
cans commanded  by  Lafayette,  the  other  by  a  de- 
tachment of  French  led  by  the  Baron  de  Viominel. 
Both  were  carried.     The  Americans  rushed  to  the 


94  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

charge  with  unloaded  arms,  entering  the  works  with 
so  nnuch  impetuosity,  that  time  was  not  allowed  for 
the  sappers  and  miners  to  remove  the  palisades. 
They  pushed  in  on  all  sides,  trusting  to  their  bayo- 
nets only ;  and  the  enemy,  astonished  at  so  much 
audacity,  was  instantly  overpowered.  The  British 
lost  eight  killed  and  about  twenty  prisoners;  the 
Americans  nine  killed  and  thirty  wounded.  The 
other  redoubt  made  a  longer  resistance.  Eigl^een 
of  the  British  were  killed  and  forty-two  were  made 
prisoners,  while  the  attacking  party  lost  one  hun- 
dred in  killed  and  wounded. 

The  gallantry  of  this  double  charge  and  capture 
was  most  highly  comphmented  by  Gen.  Washington 
in  his  general  orders  of  the  following  day,  which 
expressed  a  high  sense  of  the  judicious  dispositions 
and  gallant  conduct  of  both  commanders  and  the 
bravery  of  the  soldiers,  and  concluded  as  follows : — 
"  The  general  reflects,  with  the  highest  degree  of 
pleasure,  on  the  confidence  which  the  troops  of  the 
two  nations  must  hereafter  have  in  each  other. 
Assured  of  mutual  support,  he  is  convinced  there  is 
no  danger  which  they  will  not  cheerfully  encounter, 
no  difficulty  which  they  will  not  bravely  overcome." 

Washington  now  pushed  on  his  work  with  aston- 
ishing vigour.     Before  daylight   on   the  night  on 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  \)o 

which  they  were  taken,  these  two  redoubts  were 
inchided  in,  and  made  part  of  the  works  of  the 
besiegers.  Cornwalhs  saw  that  when  the  second 
parallel  was  completed  all  hope  of  resistance  would 
be  at  an  end.  On  the  night  of  the  16th,  he  caused 
a  detachment  to  make  a  vigorous  sortie  from  the 
town.  These  gallant  soldiers  took  two  batteries, 
but  were  furiously  charged  in  them  and  driven  back 
by  the  Viscount  of  Noailles.  An  attempt  to  retreat 
was  also  made;  and  Cornwallis  actually  succeeded  in 
the  night  in  getting  one  division  of  his  army  over  the 
river  to  Gloucester,  where  he  proposed  to  cut  through 
the  troops  which  invested  that  place,  and  force  his 
way  toward  New  York.  But  a  storm  of  wind  and 
rain  suddenly  rose,  and  scattered  the  boats;  and 
the  next  day  was  occupied  in  getting  the  troops  who 
had  crossed  over,  back  again  to  Yorktown. 

On  the  17th  of  October  the  batteries  in  the  second 
parallel  were  completed ;  and  such  a  shower  of 
bombs  and  other  missiles  was  poured  into  Yorktown 
from  all  the  batteries,  that  the  British  defences 
everywhere  crumbled  under  the  destructive  fire. 
About  ten  in  the  morning  of  that  day,  Cornwallis, 
who  was  as  brave  and  high-minded  an  officer,  and 
albeit  as  generous  a  soldier  as  the  British  had  in 
this   country,  beat   a   parley.      Negotiations   were 


96  LIFE     or     LAFAYETTE. 

commenced,  terms  of  capitulation  were  drawn  up, 
and  on  the  19th  complied  with.  The  posts,  with 
their  garrisons  and  public  stores,  were  surrendered 
to  Gen.  Washington ;  the  ships,  with  their  seamen, 
to  the  Count  de  Grasse. 

The  total  number  of  prisoners,  including  seamen, 
was  over  seven  thousand  men.  The  loss  of  the 
besieged  in  killed  and  wounded  was  five  hundred 
and  fifty-two,  including  six  officers.  The  loss  of  the 
Americans  was  about  three  hundred.  At  the  time 
of  the  surrender,  the  besieging  army  including 
militia,  amounted  to  sixteen  thousand  men. 

The  moderation  of  the  Americans  and  French 
after  carrying  the  redoubts  on  the  night  of  the  6th 
October,  particularly  that  of  the  Americans,  is 
worthy  of  all  praise.  During  the  month  before, 
Fort  Griswold,  near  New  London,  had  been  taken 
by  a  British  force  under  Arnold,  and  nearly  all  the 
garrison  were  put  to  the  sword  in  cold  blood,  after 
their  surrender.  When  Col.  Ledyard,  the  x4.merican 
commander,  resigned  his  sword,  the  British  officer 
plunged  it  in  his  bosom  !  It  has  been  falsely  charged, 
that  the  Americans,  in  storming  the  redoubts  at 
Yorktown,  were  ordered  to  kill  all  whom  they  found 
in  them  after  the  surrender.  This  falsehood,  entirely 
at  variance  with  the  character  of  Washington  and 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  97 

Lafayette,  is  unsupported  by  any  fact;  while  the 
truth  that  the  Americans  and  French  did  spare  all 
who  surrendered,  is  matter  of  history.  Lafayette 
has  also  positively  contradicted  the  calumny. 

We  will  conclude  this  long  chapter  with  a  few 
circumstances,  related  by  Lafayette,  which  show 
the  patriotic  and  excellent  feeling  of  the  Americans 
toward  their  allies.  The  Americans  without  tents 
saw  the  superior  accommodations  of  their  French 
friends  without  a  murmur ;  nor  did  they  complain 
while  the  French  were  regularly  served  with  flour 
from  the  American  magazines,  while  the  Americans 
had  only  corn  meal,  and  that  irregularly.  The  offi- 
cers lent  their  horses  to  the  French  officers  and 
walked  themselves.  Indeed,  in  every  particular,  a 
most  generous  and  courteous  spirit  was  manifested. 


98  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Condition  of  the  American  Army — Account  of  the  Surrender  of  Cora- 
wallis  —  Anecdotes  of  the  Siege  of  Yorktown  —  Address  of  Abbe 
Bandole  in  the  Catholic  Church  in  Philadelphia — Lafayette's  Last 
Orders — Resolutions  of  Congress — His  Return  to  France — His  Re- 
ception there — Visit  to  the  King  of  Prussia — News  of  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  communicated  by  him  to  Congress — Action  of  that  Body- 
Cessation  of  Hostilities. 

HE  young  reader,  not  already  familiar 
with  the  general  history  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  cannot  expect  to 
form  from  the  biography  of  any  one 
person,  an  opinion  of  all  the  impor- 
tant events  of  the  whole  war.  Much  had 
been  done  and  suffered  before  Lafayette  ar- 
rived in  this  country ;  and  much  took  place 
during  his  absence  in  Europe,  after  the  decla- 
ration of  war  between  France  and  England.  And, 
although  he  was  present  at  some  of  the  most  se- 
verely contested  engagements,  and  at  the  siege  of 
Yorktown,  which  must  be  considered  the  closing 
affair  of  the  seven  years — inasmuch  as  it  was  the 
conclusive  event  which  forced  the  thoughts  of  peace 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  99 

upon  the  British  Parliament;  still,  as  he  could  be 
in  only  one  place  at  once,  his  life  does  not  neces- 
sarily notice  the  operations  in  other  quarters.  Nor 
have  we  space  to  digress  from  the  thread  of  our 
narrative,  and  include  a  history  of  the  operations 
in  other  parts  of  the  country.  This  book  will,  we 
hope,  give  the  reader  such  a  glimpse  at  the  very 
interesting  character  of  the  events  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, that  he  will  not  cease  his  investigations  till  he 
has  read  enough  to  obtain  an  understanding  of  the 
claims  of  all  the  prominent  heroes  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, upon  the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  Lord  Cornwallis 
entered  Virginia,  he  was  so  confident  of  success 
against  Lafayette  that  he  said,  "the  boy  cannot 
escape  me."  His  opinions  of  the  "  boy"  were  so 
changed  by  subsequent  events,  and  he  was  so  much 
struck  with  the  skill  and  gallantry  of  Lafayette, 
that  he  requested  to  deliver  up  his  sword  to  him, 
and  surrender  his  army  to  the  young  commander, 
who  had  proved  himself  so  excellent  a  soldier  and 
tactician.  But  the  terms  on  which  the  Americans 
surrendered  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  to  the  Bri- 
tish, eighteen  months  before,  directed  the  manner  in 
which  the  capitulation  of  Lord  Cornwallis  was  con- 


100  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE, 

ducted;  and  Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln,  who  com- 
manded in  Charleston,  was  appointed  to  receive  the 
submission  of  the  royal  army. 

Dr.  James  Thacher,  an  eye-witness,  gives  in  his 
journal  an  interesting  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  surrender  was  conducted.  The  American 
and  French  troops  were  drawn  up  in  two  lines,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  road,  and  between  these  the 
British  army  marched  out.  There  was  also  an 
immense  concourse  of  spectators  from  the  surround- 
ing country  to  witness  this  spectacle — most  inte- 
resting to  Americans,  though  humiliating  in  the  last 
degree  to  the  royal  army.  The  French  troops  made 
a  splendid  and  martial  appearance,  in  complete  uni- 
form ;  the  Americans  were  not  all  in  martial  cos- 
tume, nor  could  their  dress  be  said  to  be  very  neat ; 
but  their  bearing  was  erect  and  manly,  and  their 
countenances  wore  the  "uniform"  of  satisfaction  and 
joy.  Gen.  Washington,  with  his  aids,  took  his  sta- 
tion at  the  head  of  the  American  column,  and  Count 
Rochambeau  at  the  head  of  the  French.  It  is  a 
circumstance  highly  creditable  to  the  American 
character,  that  the  utmost  silence  and  order  pre- 
vailed during  the  marching  out  of  the  British  army. 

At  length,  about  two  o'clock,  the  captive  army 
advanced ;  but  Lord  Cornwallis,  whom  all  expected 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  101 

to  see  at  the  head  of  the  column,  was  not  there. 
He  deputed  the  office  of  leader  on  this  occasion  to 
General  O'Harra.  The  troops  followed  with  shoul- 
dered arms,  colours  cased,  and  drums  beating  a  slow 
British  march.  In  arms  and  clothing  their  appear- 
ance was  neat  and  soldierlike,  but  in  their  line  of 
march  their  step  was  irregular,  and  their  ranks  were 
frequently  broken.  Arrived  at  the  head  of  the  Ame- 
rican column.  Gen.  O'Harra  gracefully  apologised  to 
Gen.  Washington  for  the  non-appearance  of  Lord 
Cornwallis,  on  the  plea  of  indisposition,  and  was 
courteously  referred  to  Gen.  Lincoln  for  directions. 
Gen.  Lincoln  conducted  the  conquered  army  into  a 
large  field,  where  it  w^as  arranged  that  they  should 
ground  their  arms.  Dr.  Thacher  gives  the  following 
account  of  this  part  of  the  ceremony  : — "  It  was  in 
the  field,  when  they  came  to  the  last  act  of  the 
drama,  that  the  spirit  and  pride  of  the  British  sol- 
dier was  put  to  the  severest  test;  here  their  morti- 
fication could  not  be  concealed.  Some  of  the  pla- 
toon officers  appeared  to  be  exceedingly  chagrined 
when  giving  the  word  'ground  arms;'  and  I  am 
witness  that  they  performed  this  duty  in  an  exceed- 
ingly unofficerlike  manner,  and  that  many  of  the 
soldiers  manifested  a  sullen  temper,  throwing  their 
arms  on  the  pile  with  violence,  as  if  determined  to 


102  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

render  them  useless.  This  irregularity,  however, 
was  checked  by  the  authority  of  Gen.  Lincoln. 
After  having  grounded  their  arms,  and  divested 
themselves  of  their  accoutrements,  the  captive  troops 
were  conducted  back  to  Yorktown,  and  guarded  by 
our  troops,  till  they  could  be  removed  to  the  place 
of  their  destination." 

Among  the  other  incidents  relative  to  this  siege, 
Dr.  Thacher  relates  some  circumstances  which  ac- 
count for  the  much  greater  slaughter  of  the  French 
party  than  of  the  American,  on  the  night  when 
Lafayette  and  Baron  Viominel  each  took  a  redoubt. 
The  Americans  pulled  away  the  palisades  with  their 
hands  and  jumped  over,  entering  the  works  at  once. 
The  French  waited  for  the  sappers  and  miners  to 
remove  the  defences,  according  to  the  rules  of  art, 
and  were  all  this  time  exposed  to  a  galling  fire. 
After  the  American  party  had  taken  their  redoubt, 
Lafayette  sent  his  aid,  Major  Barbour,  to  the  other 
redoubt,  to  inform  Baron  Viominel  that  "  he  was  in 
his  redoubt,  and  to  ask  the  Baron  where  he  was." 
The  Major  found  Baron  Viominel  waiting  the  clear- 
ing away  of  the  palisades,  and  he  sent  back  the 
answer :  "  Tell  the  Marquis  I  am  not  in  mine  yet, 
but  I  \vill  be  in  five  minutes."     And  so  he  was. 

A  curious  circumstance  occurred  in  the  capture 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  103 

of  Cornwallis.  Mr.  Henry  Laurens,  United  States' 
Ambassador  to  Holland,  was  captured  by  the  Bri- 
tish on  his  passage  out,  and  confined  in  the  Tower 
of  London,  of  which  Lord  Cornwallis  was  constable 
or  governor.  Col.  John  Laurens  was  one  of  the 
officers  who  arranged  the  terms  of  surrender.  Thus 
the  son  took  custody  of  his  father's  jailor.  Lord 
Cornwallis  was  afterward  exchanged  for  Mr.  Lau- 
rens. Congress  had  offered  Gen.  Burgoyne  before, 
but  the  British  refused  to  make  the  exchange. 

In  the  general  orders  issued  the  day  after  the 
capitulation,  Lafayette  was  among  the  officers  par- 
ticularly mentioned.  Indeed,  his  services  in  the 
capture  of  Cornwallis  commenced,  from  the  moment 
in  which  the  British  general  arrived  in  Virginia. 
His  skilful  and  patient  manoeuvres,  the  consummate 
skill  of  a  veteran,  united  to  the  ready  and  chivalric 
courage  of  youth,  conducted  Cornwallis  into  the 
toils  which  led  to  his  surrender,  and  to  the  close  of 
the  British  rule  in  the  States  of  the  Union. 

Great  and  enthusiastic  were  the  rejoicings  in 
every  part  of  the  United  States  upon  the  intelligence 
of  this  victory.  Its  consequences  were  at  once 
perceived,  and  the  whole  people  were  filled  with  the 
most  cheering  anticipations.  The  cause  which  had 
seemed  at  one  time  almost  hopeless,  was  now  placed 


104  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

beyond  the  doubt  of  success.  Nobody  could,  how- 
ever, more  heartily  rejoice  than  the  American  sol- 
diers. All  had  endured  privations;  and  in  many 
parts  of  the  country  the  sufferings  of  the  republican 
armies  seem  almost  beyond  belief.  In  Gen.  Greene's 
command  at  the  south,  it  is  stated  that  the  clothing 
of  the  men  vras  so  wretched  and  insufficient  that  the 
cartouch-boxes  galled  their  bodies;  and  they  pro- 
tected their  shoulders  from  abrasion  by  their  mus- 
kets, by  wrapping  swamp-moss  or  rags  around  the 
barrels.  Food  was  insufficient  in  quantity,  and  in 
quality  miserable.  Sickness,  inseparable  from  such 
a  state  of  privation,  was  constantly  prostrating 
great  numbers.  And  all  these  sufferings  and  disad- 
vantages were  the  lot  of  men,  who  were  expected 
to  cope  with  well-disciplined  and  well-appointed 
armies,  possessing  every  comfort  and  advantage 
which  the  patriots  lacked.  But  in  the  fortitude  and 
stern  endurance  of  the  Americans,  and  in  the  justice 
of  their  cause,  there  was  a  moral  strength,  which 
no  wealth  of  the  munitions  of  war  could  confer 
upon  their  enemies. 

Festivals  and  public  rejoicings  were  held  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  States ;  and  the  names  of  the  American 
and  French  officers  whose  bravery  had  made  them 
distinguished,  were  on  everybody's  lips.     Congress 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  105 

repaired  in  a  body  to  the  Lutheran  church  in  Phila- 
delphia, to  return  thanks  for  so  signal  a  victory; 
and  they  also,  with  many  other  public  men,  attended 
at  the  Catholic  church,  by  invitation  of  the  French 
Minister.  Previous  to  the  singing  of  the  Te  Deum, 
an  address  was  delivered  by  the  Abbe  Bandole,  of 
the  embassy,  in  which  occurs  a  grateful  allusion  to 
the  friendship  of  the  allies. 

"Those  miracles  which  the  Omnipotent  once 
wrought  for  his  chosen  people  are  renewed  in  our 
favour ;  and  it  would  be  equally  ungrateful  and  im- 
pious not  to  acknowledge  that  the  event  which  lately 
confounded  our  enemies,  and  frustrated  their  designs, 
was  the  wonderful  work  of  that  God  who  guards 
your  liberties. 

"And  who  but  he  could  so  combine  the  circum- 
stances which  led  to  success  ?  We  have  seen  our 
enemies  push  forward  amid  perils  almost  innumer- 
able, amid  obstacles  almost  insurmountable,  to  the 
spot  which  was  designed  to  witness  their  disgrace ; 
yet  they  eagerly  sought  it  as  the  theatre  of  their 
triumph  !  Blind  as  they  were,  they  bore  hunger, 
thirst,  and  inclement  skies,  poured  their  blood  in 
battle  against  brave  republicans,  and  crossed  im- 
mense  regions   to   confine   themselves  in  another 


106  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

Jericho,  whose  walls  were  fated  to  fall  before  an 
other  Joshua. 

"  It  is  He  who  commands  the  winds,  and  the  seas, 
and  the  seasons,  who  formed  a  junction  on  the  same 
day,  in  the  same  hour,  between  a  formidable  fleet 
from  the  south,  and  an  army  rushing  from  the  north 
like  an  impetuous  torrent.  Who  but  He,  in  whose 
hands  are  the  hearts  of  men,  could  inspire  the  allied 
troops  with  the  friendship,  the  confidence,  the  tender- 
ness of  brothers  ?  How  is  it  that  the  two  nations, 
once  divided,  jealous,  inimical,  and  nursed  in  recip- 
rocal prejudices,  are  now  become  so  closely  united 
as  to  form  but  one  ?  Worldlings  would  say,  it  is 
the  wisdom,  the  virtue,  the  moderation  of  their 
chiefs,  it  is  a  great  national  interest  which  has  led 
to  this  prodigy.  They  will  say  that,  to  the  skill  of 
the  generals,  to  the  courage  of  the  troops,  to  the 
activity  of  the  whole  army,  we  must  attribute  this 
splendid  success.  Ah !  they  are  ignorant  that  the 
combining  of  so  many  fortunate  circumstances  is  an 
emanation  of  the  All-perfect  Mind — that  courage, 
that  skill,  that  activity,  bear  the  sacred  impression 
of  Him  who  is  divine !" 

The  next  service  for  which  Lafayette  prepared, 
was  to  lead  a  reinforcement  to  the  south  to  support 
the  American  army  in  an  attack  upon  Charleston. 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  107 

But  hardly  was  he  ordered  upon  this  expedition 
when  his  purposes  were  again  changed.  The  field 
for  military  operations  in  the  United  States,  after 
the  crowning  success  which  had  distinguished  the 
plains  of  Yorktown,  had  become  very  limited  ;  and 
it  appeared  to  the  iMarquis,  and  to  the  friends  of 
America,  that  he  could  do  the  cause  more  service  in 
France,  where  important  negotiations  for  supplies 
and  in  regard  to  peace  were  pending ;  and  he  again 
turned  his  thoughts  towards  his  native  country. 

Previous  to  his  departure  from  Yorktown,  he 
issued  his  last  orders  to  his  favourite  infantry  corps, 
in  which  are  contained  the  following,  amonor  other 
affectionate  expressions  :  —  "  In  the  moment  the 
Major-General  leaves  this  place,  he  wishes  once 
more  to  express  his  gratitude  to  the  brave  corps  of 
light  infantry,  who  for  nine  months  past  have  been 
the  companions  of  his  fortunes.  He  will  never 
forget  that  with  them  alone,  of  regular  troops,  he 
had  the  good  fortune  to  mancEUvre  before  an  army, 
which,  after  all  its  reductions,  is  still  six  times  supe- 
rior to  the  regular  force  he  had  at  that  time." 

On  the  23d  of  November,  Congress,  in  acceding 
to  the  request  of  Lafayette  for  leave  of  absence, 
added  to  it  such  expressions  and  instructions,  as 
would  at  once  show  in  how  high  estimation  his  vir- 


108 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 


tues  and  valour  were  held  in  this  country,  and  facili- 
tate his  operations  abroad.     It  was, 

^^Resolved,  That  the  Major-General  the  Marquis 
de  Lafayette  have  permission  to  go  to  France ;  and 
that  he  return  at  such  tiuie  as  shall  be  most  conve- 
nient to  him. 

"  That  he  be  informed,  that  in  a  review  of  his 
conduct  in  the  past  campaign,  and  particularly 
during  the  period  in  which  he  had  the  chief  com- 
mand in  Virginia,  the  many  new  proofs  which  pre- 
sent themselves  of  his  zealous  attachment  to  the 
cause  wh-ich  he  has  espoused,  and  of  his  judgment, 
vigilance,  gallantry,  and  address  in  its  defence,  have 
greatly  added  to  the  high  opinion  entertained  by 
Congress  of  his  merits  and  military  talents : 

"  That  he  make  known  to  the  officers  and  troops 
which  he  commanded  during  that  period,  that  the 
brave  and  enterprising  services  with  which  they 
seconded  his  zeal  and  efforts,  and  which  enabled  him 
to  defeat  the  attempts  of  an  enemy  far  superior  in 
numbers,  have  been  beheld  by  Congress  with  parti- 
cular satisfaction  and  approbation : 

"  That  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  acquaint 
the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States, 
that  it  is  the  design  of  Congress  that  they  confer 
with  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  avail  themselves 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  109 

of  his  information  relative  to  the  situation  of  public 
affairs  in  the  United  States : 

"  That  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  further 
acquaint  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  at  the  Court 
of  Versailles,  that  he  will  conform  to  the  intention 
of  Congress,  by  consulting  with,  and  employing  the 
assistance  of  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  in  accele- 
rating the  supplies  which  may  be  afforded  by  his 
Most  Christian  Majesty  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States : 

"  That  the  Superintendent  of  Finance,  the  Secre- 
tary of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  the  Board  of  War, 
make  such  communications  to  the  Marquis  de 
Lafayette,  touching  the  affairs  of  their  respective 
departments,  as  will  best  enable  him  to  fulfil  the 
purpose  of  the  two  resolutions  immediately  pre- 
ceding: 

"  That  the  Superintendent  of  Finance  take  order 
for  discharging  the  engagements  entered  into  by  the 
Marquis  de  Lafayette  with  the  merchants  of  Bal- 
timore. 

'•''Ordered,  That  the  Superintendent  of  Finance 
furnish  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  with  a  proper 
conveyance  to  France : 

"  That  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  report  a 


110  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

letter  to  his  Most  Christian  Majesty,  to  be  sent  by 
the  Marquis  de  Lafayette." 

Lafayette  embarked  for  Europe  in  December, 
1781,  and  arrived  in  France  early  in  January. 
Beside  the  official  testimonials  of  Congress,  he  car- 
ried many  letters  from  high  functionaries  in  this 
country.  Among  these  was  a  letter  from  Robert 
Morris,  Superintendent  of  Finance,  urging  upon  Dr. 
Franklin  the  propriety  of  consulting  the  Marquis  in 
the  business  of  his  mission.  Mr.  Morris  writes : — 
"  I  have  such  perfect  confidence,  as  well  in  the  pru- 
dence of  the  Marquis  as  in  his  attachment  to  this 
country,  that,  the  acts  of  Congress  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, I  should  feel  a  pleasure  in  making  him  ac- 
quainted with  my  views  and  wishes.  Indeed,  I 
expect  that  his  zeal  and  activity  will  go  far  in 
smoothing  the  way  toward  the  accomphshment  of 
those  objects  which  your  excellency  has  to  solicit." 

But,  to  procure  him  an  appropriate  reception  at 
home,  Lafayette  needed  no  testimonials.  His  fame 
had  preceded  him.  His  reception  at  court  was 
extremely  flattering;  and  his  own  countrymen 
greeted  him,  wherever  he  went,  with  an  enthusiasm 
and  a  popular  fervour  like  that  which  he  always  met 
in  America.  He  was  indeed  at  home  in  both  hemi- 
spheres.   The  friend  of  humanity,  and  the  advocate 


LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE.  Ill 

of  the  rights  of  the  individual,  the  considerate  su- 
perior, and  the  nobleman  in  heart  as  well  as  by 
birth  —  had  all  the  titled  been  like  Lafayette,  the 
horrors  of  the  French  revolution  would  not  dim  the 
pages  of  history. 

After  remaining  a  short  time  in  Paris,  respected 
by  the  Court  and  idolized  by  the  people,  Lafayette 
visited  his  estates  in  Tourraine.  Thence  he  visited 
many  of  the  German  Courts ;  having  yet  scarcely 
exceeded  the  age  at  which  young  men  commence 
their  travels  to  complete  their  education,  and  yet 
having  already  won  the  reputation  of  a  statesman 
and  a  soldier,  and  crowded  so  many  events  into  the 
first  years  of  his  life,  that  he  entered  upon  man's 
estate  with  more  fame  and  experience  than  most 
men  lie  down  to  die  with,  at  the  close  of  the  ordi- 
nary pilgrimage. 

In  September,  1782,  Lafayette  visited  the  Court 
of  the  great  Frederick  of  Prussia.  When  the 
Prussian  monarch  was  apprised  of  his  arrival,  he 
invited  him  at  once  to  Sans  Souci,  and  there  fre- 
quently entered  with  him  into  long  and  interesting 
conversations.  It  was  a  passion  with  Frederick  to 
gather  about  him  the  celebrated  in  literature,  arts, 
and  arms,  and  to  employ  his  great  mind  in  efforts 
to  develope  the  knowledge  of  others.     In  a  long 


112  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

letter  which  Lafayette  wrote  to  Washington,  be^ 
tween  whom  and  himself  the  most  affectionate 
attachment  continued,  the  Marquis  gave  his  distm- 
guished  friend  a  particular  account  of  his  visit  to 
the  Court  of  Frederick,  and  dwelt  with  much  plea- 
sure on  the  plaudits  which  were  everywhere  bestowed 
upon  Washington.  Frederick,  who  was  a  judge, 
competent  as  ever  lived,  of  the  character  of  mihtary 
reputation,  warmly  praised  the  manner  in  which  the 
American  war  had  been  conducted;  and  as  an 
earnest  of  his  friendship  for  the  Marquis,  presented 
him  with  his  miniature  set  in  brilliants,  remarking, 
that  he  hoped  this  trifling  memento  would  sometimes 
recall  him  to  his  recollection. 

While  absent  in  Europe,  Lafayette  never  forgot 
his  attachment  for  America,  but  continued  his  ex- 
ertions in  her  behalf,  not  only  in  taking  all  the  mea- 
sures which  were  within  his  power  to  accelerate  the 
completion  of  the  treaty,  but  in  efforts  to  induce  the 
French  government  to  bring  matters  to  a  crisis,  by 
employing  a  larger  force  in  America.  At  length  he 
saw  his  wishes  realized.  Count  D'Estaing  was 
about  to  sail  from  Cadiz  with  a  fleet,  on  board  of 
which  were  eight  thousand  French  and  Spanish 
troops,  destined  for  service  in  America.  Lafayette 
was  appointed  Adjutant-General  to  the  Count,  and 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  113 

proceeded  to  Cadiz  to  join  the  expedition,  when  the 
sailing  of  the  fleet  was  countermanded,  and  its  de- 
parture arrested  by  the  news  of  peace. 

Ever  mindful  of  his  American  friends,  the  Marquis 
applied  immediately  to  the  Count  D'Estaing,  request- 
ing him  to  furnish  a  fast-sailing  vessel,  which  might 
immediately  proceed  to  America  with  this  agree- 
able intelligence.  The  request  was  acceded  to,  and 
by  a  happy  coincidence  the  swift  sailer  happened 
to  be  the  corvette  Triumph.  That  vessel  arrived 
at  Philadelphia  on  the  23d  of  March,  and  the  intel- 
ligence she  brought  was  much  earlier  than  the  offi- 
cial, or  any  other  account  was  received.  Thus,  by 
the  considerate  humanity  of  Lafayette,  were  hos- 
tilities much  earlier  closed  than  they  would  have 
been.  Many  lives  were  spared  by  land  and  sea ;  to 
say  nothing  of  the  joy  and  gladness  which  were 
thus  early  spread  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land  the  young  hero  had  so  heartily  befriended. 

We  need  not  say  that  there  needed  no  extraor- 
dinary effort  to  spread  such  tidings,  or  that  the  joy 
of  the  people  was  unbounded.  Here  was  a  close  to 
their  long  struggle,  often  so  hopeless,  and  the  happy 
tidings  hurried  to  them  too,  by  the  man  who  had 
been,  under  Providence,  one  of  the  most  important 


114  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

agents  in  producing  the  result.  Congress  instantly 
took  action  upon  the  intelligence.  It  arrived  on 
Sunday,  the  23d,  and  the  following  is  an  extract 
from  Monday's  journal: 

"A  letter  of  February  5th,  from  the  Marquis  de 
Lafayette,  announcing  a  general  peace,  and  a  copy 
of  ordei's  given  by  the  Count  D'Estaing,  Vice-Ad- 
miral  of  France,  to  the  Chevalier  Du  Quesne,  com- 
mander of  the  corvette  Triumph,  despatched  from 
Cadiz  on  the  6th  of  February  last,  for  the  purpose 
of  putting  a  stop  to  all  hostilities  by  sea,  being  laid 
before  Congress  and  read: 

^''Resolved,  That  the  Agent  of  Marine  be,  and  he 
is  hereby  directed,  immediately  to  recall  all  armed 
vessels  cruising  under  commissions  from  the  United 
States  of  America." 

The  exertions  of  the  Marquis,  so  great  and  un- 
ceasing had  they  been,  called  forth  the  official  action 
of  Congress.  On  the  10th  of  April  the  following 
resolution  was  passed: 

^^Resolved,  That  Congress  are  satisfied  with  the 
reasons  which  have  prevailed  with  Major-General 
the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  for  his  stay  in  Europe, 
and  his  consequent  absence  from  his  command  in 
the  United  States ;  and  have  a  high  sense  of  the 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  115 

new  proof  he  has  exhibited  of  his  zeal  in  the  cause 
of  the  said  States,  and  of  his  constant  attachment 
to  their  interests  and  welfare." 

On  the  18th  of  April  the  general  orders  of  the 
commander-in-chief  directed  the  publication  of  the 
cessation  of  hostilities.  We  subjoin  an  extract  from 
this  highly  interesting  document:  —  "The  com- 
mander-in-chief orders  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
between  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  King 
of  Great  Britain,  to  be  publicly  proclaimed  to-mor- 
row at  twelve,  at  the  new  building ;  and  that  the 
proclamation  which  will  be  communicated  herewith, 
be  read  to-morrow  evening  at  the  head  of  every 
regiment  and  corps  of  the  army;  after  which  the 
chaplains,  with  the  several  brigades,  will  render 
thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  all  his  mercies,  particu- 
larly for  his  overruling  the  wrath  of  men  to  his  own 
glory,  and  causing  the  rage  of  war  to  cease  among 
the  nations. 

"Although  the  proclamation  before  alluded  to 
extends  .only  to  the  prohibition  of  hostihties,  and 
not  to  the  annunciation  of  a  general  peace,  yet  it 
must  afford  the  most  rational  and  sincere  satisfac- 
tion to  every  benevolent  mind,  as  it  puts  a  period  to 
a  long  and  doubtful  contest,  stops  the  effusion  of 


116  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

human  blood,  opens  the  prospect  to  a  more  splendid 
scene,  and,  like  another  morning  star,  promises  the 
approach  of  a  brighter  day  than  hath  hitherto  illu- 
minated the  western  hemisphere.  On  such  a  happy 
day,  which  is  the  harbinger  of  peace — a  day  which 
completes  the  eighth  year  of  the  war,  it  would  be 
ingratitude  not  to  rejoice — it  would  be  insensibility 
not  to  participate  in  the  general  felicity." 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  117 


CHAPTER  X. 

Visit  of  Lafayette  to  America  in  1784  —  Resolution  of  Congress  — 
Arrival  and  Reception  at  New  York  —  Triumphal  Entrance  into 
Philadelphia — Honour  paid  him  by  the  Legislature — Visit  to  Mount 
Vernon — Reception  in  Baltimore — Visit  to  the  Six  Nations — Pre- 
sentation of  the  Freedom  of  New  York — Visit  to  Massachusetts — 
Proceedings  in  Boston — Touching  Incident  at  Marblehead — Visit  to 
Virginia — Takes  Leave  of  Washington — Proceedings  in  several  of 
the  State  Legislatures — The  Marquis  takes  Leave  of  Congress — 
Embarks  for  Europe. 

N  the  summer  of  1784,  Lafayette  de- 
termined to  pay  America  another  visit, 
to  observe  the  fruits,  in  peace,  of  the 
pohtical  independence  which  he  had 
aided  to  secure.  To  this  he  was  moved 
by  his  private  friendships,  as  well  as  by  his 
public  attachments.  After  the  establishment 
of  peace  he  had  not  intermitted  his  disinte- 
rested labours,  not  only  for  the  national  in- 
terests of  America,  but  for  the  advantage  of  indi- 
vidual citizens,  whenever  opportunity  presented. 
His  services  were  acknowledged  in  the  following 
resolution  of  Congress,  passed  on  the  3d  of  May, 
1784: 


118  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

**Resohed,  That  a  letter  be  written  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  expressing  the 
high  sense  which  Congress  entertains  of  his  impor- 
tant services,  relative  to  the  commerce  of  France 
and  these  United  States,  and  particularly  to  free 
ports  J  and  that  there  is  every  reason  to  expect 
mutual  and  permanent  advantages  from  these  liberal 
measures,  adopted  by  his  Most  Christian  Majesty." 

Lafayette  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  4th  of 
August.  As  soon  as  his  arrival  was  known,  all  the 
officers  who  had  served  under  him  during  the  war, 
the  citizens  who  had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaint- 
ance, and  the  thousands  who  knew  him  by  reputa- 
tion, hastened  to  bid  him  welcome.  On  the  day 
after  his  arrival  he  was  invited  to  a  splendid  enter- 
tainment, at  which  the  officers  appeared  in  the  uni- 
forms which  they  had  laid  aside  with  the  war.  The 
readiness  and  impromptu  character  of  this  festival — 
the  first  of  which  Lafayette  partook  in  America 
after  the  acknowledgement  of  her  independence — 
added  to  the  enjoyment  of  so  happy  an  occasion; 
for  long  preparation  oftener  mars  than  makes  a  fete. 

After  spending  a  few  days  in  New  York  he  de- 
parted for  Philadelphia,  whither  the  news  of  his 
arrival  in  the  country,  and  of  his  intended  visit,  had 
flown  before  him.     He  was  met  at  a  distance  from 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  119 

the  city  by  a  numerous  escort,  consisting  of*  officers 
who  had  served  in  the  continental  army,  officers  of 
the  mihtia,  and  a  great  number  of  citizens.  The 
ringing  of  bells  and  salvoes  of  artillery  announced 
his  entrance.  The  streets,  the  doors,  windows, 
roofs — every  place  on  his  route  which  offered  a 
foothold,  were  crowded  with  spectators,  and  the  air 
resounded  with  hearty  acclamations  of  welcome, 
doubly  grateful  because  heartfelt  and  spontaneous. 
After  visiting  the  Executive  of  the  State  he  was 
conducted  to  his  rooms  in  the  City  Hotel,  where  he 
partook  of  a  splendid  supper;  and  in  the  evening 
there  was  a  general  illumination. 

On  the  next  day,  Generals  Wayne,  St.  Clair,  and 
Irwin  waited  upon  Lafayette,  in  behalf  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  continental  army,  to  congratulate  him 
on  his  arrival,  and  tender  him  the  respects  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Line.  The  Legislature  of  the  State 
appointed  a  committee,  consisting  of  one  member 
from  each  county,  who  presented  him  with  a  feeling 
and  grateful  address,  to  which  he  made  a  happy 
reply.  Citizens  and  public  functionaries  vied  with 
each  other  in  their  testimonies  of  respect  to  the 
man  who  had  been  so  uniform  and  zealous  a  friend 
of  their  country. 

Anxious  early  to  exchange  congratulations  with 


120  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

his  beloved  friend  Washington,  Lafayette  left  Phila- 
delphia on  the  14th,  and  hurried  through  to  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  arrived  on  the  19th — a  rate  of 
travel  expeditious  in  those  days,  though  it  would  be 
deemed  dilatory  now.  After  passing  twelve  happy 
days  with  Washington,  he  returned  to  Baltimore, 
and  was  received  with  hearty  enthusiasm  and  joy. 
He  was  presented  with  an  address  by  a  committee 
of  the  principal  citizens  of  Baltimore,  and  was  the 
guest  at  a  civic  festival,  at  which  more  than  three 
hundred  persons  were  present. 

His  public  services  in  this  country  were  not  yet 
closed.  Such  was  the  reputation  which  the  Mar- 
quis de  Lafayette  had  won,  while  yet  only  in  his 
twenty-eighth  year,  that  the  committee  of  Congress 
who  had  been  deputed  to  treat  with  the  Six  Nations 
of  Indians,  invited  him  to  accompany  them  on  the 
embassy;  he  having  often  treated  with  these  savages 
during  the  war.  Upon  his  way  to  Fort  Schuyler, 
he  was  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city  of 
New  York  in  a  golden  box,  and  invited  to  a  superb 
entertainment  by  the  officers  of  the  line  then  residing 
in  that  city. 

After  participating  in  the  "  talk"  with  the  Indians, 
Lafayette  proceeded  to  Boston,  via  Hartford  and 
Worcester,  everywhere  making  a  triumphal  pro- 


LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE.  121 

gress.  He  was  met  several  miles  from  Boston  by  a 
military  escort,  and  citizens  in  carriages ;  and  as 
le  drew  near  the  town  the  concourse  was  every 
.■noment  increased.  His  approach  was  announced 
by  the  ringing  of  bells  and  firing  of  cannon ;  and 
as  he  entered  State  Street  he  was  received  with  the 
national  salute  of  thirteen  guns.  Having  presented 
himself  in  the  balcony  of  the  old  provincial  building, 
now  called  the  Old  State-House,  he  was  received 
with  deafening  cheers,  and  made  his  acknowledge- 
ments to  the  people  with  his  usual  grace  and 
affability. 

The  officers  of  the  Line  in  Boston,  as  in  other 
places,  rendered  him  their  affectionate  congratula- 
tions. The  State  authorities  made  the  19th  of 
October,  the  anniversary  of  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis,  the  occasion  of  conferring  public  honours 
upon  their  illustrious  guest.  He  was  received  by 
the  executive  and  legislative  officers  of  the  State, 
the  Governor  as  their  orator,  in  eloquent  and  im- 
pressive terms,  testifying  to  him  the  high  esteem 
and  gratitude  of  the  State.  From  the  State-House 
he  was  conducted  to  the  City  Hotel,  where,  in  an 
appropriately  ornamented  saloon,  a  splendid  enter- 
tainment was  prepared;  and  the  thirteen  regular 
toasts  were  each  celebrated  by  thirteen  guns.     The 


1 22  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

festivities  of  the  day  closed  with  a  grand  ball  and 
fireworks. 

By  invitation  of  the  Legislature,  Lafayette  at- 
tended many  of  their  sessions  during  his  stay  in 
Boston.  After  a  few  days  he  made  a  tour  through 
the  eastern  part  of  Massachusetts  to  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire,  where  many  of  his  old  friends  re- 
sided. Everywhere  he  was  received  with  the  most 
hearty  welcome.  We  have  not  space  to  notice  one- 
tenth  of  th.e  ceremonies  which  took  place  in  his 
honour,  but  cannot  pass  over  an  incident  which 
occurred  in  the  small,  but  pubHc-spirited  and  patri- 
otic town  of  Marblehead.  The  Marquis  appeared 
astonished  at  the  large  number  of  ladies  mingled 
with  the  male  citizens  who  had  been  deputed  to 
receive  him.  "  These,"  said  the  orator  of  the  oc- 
casion, who  perceived  the  surprise  of  the  Marquis, 
"  are  the  widows  of  those  who  perished  in  the  Re- 
volutionary War,  and  the  mothers  of  children,  for 
whose  liberty  you  have  contended  in  the  field  of 
battle.  They  are  now  here  in  the  places  of  their 
husbands,  many  of  whom  were  once  known  to  you." 
We  may  here  remark  that  Marblehead,  in  the  honour 
of  furnishing  soldiers,  was  the  "  banner  town ;"  for 
its  proportion  to  the  whole  number  of  inhabitants 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  123 

was  greater  than  that  of  any  other  place  in  the 
United  States. 

After  visiting  Rhode  Island,  Lafayette  embarked 
at  Boston  for  Virginia,  and  in  November  arrived  at 
Williamsburg,  the  place  of  his  head-quarters  during 
a  great  part  of  the  arduous  Virginia  campaign. 
In  Virginia,  the  defender  of  her  soil  was  hailed  and 
welcomed  with  most  affectionate  rapture.  The 
Legislature,  then  in  session,  deputed  a  committee 
of  five,  among  whom  were  James  Madison  and 
Patrick  Henry,  to  present  their  respects;  which 
duty  was  performed  in  a  touching  manner.  Lafay- 
ette responded  with  heartfelt  emotion.  From  Rich- 
mond Lafayette  accompanied  Washington  to  Mount 
Vernon  ;  and  here  awaited  him  the  civilities  of  the 
citizens  of  Alexandria  and  Annapolis,  and  the  ad- 
dress of  the  Legislature  of  Maryland,  then  in  ses- 
sion in  the  latter  city. 

At  this  time,  or  within  a  short  period  afterward, 
many  of  the  States  passed  acts  naturalizing  him 
formally,  who  had  established  so  excellent  a  right 
to  be  considered  a  citizen.  In  1784,  Maryland 
passed  an  act  of  naturalization,  couched  in  warm 
terms,  to  which  the  language  of  legislation  is  usually 
unaccustomed.  Connecticut  followed  the  example ; 
Massachusetts  passed  a  special  act  in  favour  of  the 


124  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

Marquis  and  his  family ;  Virginia  and  some  other 
States  passed  bills  of  the  same  nature.  The  col- 
leges of  Harvard  and  Princeton  conferred  on  him 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws ;  and  most 
of  the  scientific  and  other  societies  adopted  him  as 
a  member. 

Virginia,  whose  soil  was  the  scene  of  his  most 
glorious  exploits  and  valuable  services,  ordered  a 
bust  of  the  Marquis  to  be  placed  in  the  capitol  of 
that  State.  Nor  did  the  zeal  of  the  Legislature  stop 
here,  but  anxious  to  testify  in  his  own  land  its  grati- 
tude to  a  Frenchman,  the  legislature  caused  a  bust 
of  Lafayette  to  be  presented  to  the  city  of  Paris. 
The  municipality,  with  the  expressed  approval  of  the 
French  King,  formally  accepted  the  bust,  and  placed 
it  in  one  of  the  halls  of  the  Hotel-de-Ville,  where, 
during  the  revolution,  it  was  broken  to  pieces,  by 
the  mad  fury  of  the  Jacobins.  The  ceremony  of 
the  official  reception  of  the  bust,  included  the 
reading  of  the  resolution  of  the  Virginia  Legisla- 
ture, and  other  documents  relative  to  the  subject, 
and  the  delivery  of  an  oration  by  the  Attorney- 
General,  M.  Ethit  de  Corny,  a  member  of  the  Ame- 
rican Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  In  this  address. 
M.  Corny  sketched  the  various  services  which  La- 
fayette had  rendered  to  the  American  Republic,  and 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  125 

the  confidence  and  affection  felt  for  him  by  the 
American  army  and  people.  This  novel  ceremony 
created  quite  a  sensation  among  the  vivacious  Pari- 
sians, whose  national  pride  and  love  of  the  pictu- 
resque were  at  once  gratified  by  a  testimony  so 
touching  and  unusual. 

In  strict  order  of  time  the  erection  of  this  bust 
belongs  to  a  later  period,  as  it  took  place  in  1786. 
But  as  our  subsequent  chapters  will  be  occupied 
with  the  great  events  which  took  place  in  Europe, 
we  have  chosen  to  introduce  it  here;  and  for  the 
same  reason  give  in  this  place  one  or  two  other 
anecdotes  and  incidents.  In  1787,  one  hundred 
buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  part  of 
Boston  called  "  South  End."  Of  these  buildings 
sixty  were  dwelling-houses;  and  the  conflagration 
caused  great  distress,  by  making  many  families 
houseless,  and  even  penniless.  Lafayette,  as  soon 
as  he  heard  of  the  calamity,  authorised  his  corre- 
spondent in  Boston,  Samuel  Breck,  Esq.,  to  draw 
on  him  for  three  hundred  pounds  sterling;  within  a 
fraction,  exchange  considered,  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars,  to  be  applied  to  the  relief  of  the  destitute. 
Acts  like  this,  of  noble  munificence,  show  him  to 
have  been  the  worthy  possessor  of  the  great  wealth 
which  he  enjoyed ;  and  it  may  be  remarked  that 


126  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

large  donations  like  this,  which  necessarily  were 
made  public,  formed  but  a  comparatively  small  por- 
tion of  the  amount  which,  as  a  good  steward,  he 
dispersed  among  those  who  needed  his  kind  offices. 
In  hundreds  of  cases  he  added  to  the  benefit  con- 
ferred, by  the  delicacy  with  which  he  screened  the 
act  from  the  public  eye. 

On  very  many  occasions  he  found  opportunity  to 
confer  essential  and  timely  succour  upon  Americans 
in  Europe ;  and  this  aid  often  reached  them  not  only 
unsolicited  but  unexpected.  Sometimes  it  was  at 
the  expense  of  his  private  purse,  at  others  by  the 
exertion  of  the  influence  of  his  position.  In  the 
matter  of  simple  courtesy  and  affability,  his  de- 
meanour was  always  delightful  to  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  his  house  was  ever  open  to  them. 
"You  are  now  in  America,"  he  said  once  to  an 
American  who  was  his  guest  at  La  Grange.  "Ame- 
rica!" said  the  visitor,  not  comprehending  him. 
"  Yes,  this  apartment  is  what  I  call  America."  The 
gentleman  looked  around  him,  and  beheld  every- 
where arranged  the  tokens  of  his  country.  The 
American  flag,  trophies  and  mementoes  of  the  Re- 
volution, articles  received  as  memorials  of  esteem, 
maps  of  states  and  cities,  plans  of  campaigns,  por- 
traits of  Washington  and  other  distinguished  Ame- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  127 

ricans,  American  books  and  newspaper  files,  and, 
one  of  the  most  highly  prized  of  all  his  treasures, 
the  electrical  machine  with  which  Franklin  had 
made  so  many  experiments,  and  which  he  had  pre- 
sented as  a  token  of  his  esteem  to  the  illustrious 
Frenchman. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Island  of  Nantucket,  in 
1786,  adopted  a  curious  and  primitive  method  of 
testifying  their  regard  for  the  Marquis,  and  of 
showing  that,  though  separated  from  the  main  land, 
they  were  not  cut  off  from  their  share  of  respect 
and  gratitude.  As  a  general  acknowledgement,  and 
as  a  particular  mark  of  their  gratitude  for  the  ser- 
vice conferred  by  Lafayette,  in  procuring  the  admis- 
sion of  American  whale  oil  into  France  on  the  same 
terms  that  it  was  received  from  the  Hanseatic 
Towns — a  measure  which  vastly  benefited  the  Island 
of  Nantucket — it  was,  by  the  inhabitants  in  corpo- 
ration assembled, 

^^  Voted  and  resolved,  That  each  of  them  should 
contribute  the  milk  afibrded  by  his  cow  during  the 
space  of  twenty-four  hours;  that  the  whole  quantity 
thus  obtained  should  be  manufactured  into  a  cheese 
weighing  Jive  hundred  pounds ;  and  that  the  same 
should  be  transmitted  to  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette, 
as  a  feeble,  but  not  less  sincere  testimonial,  of  the 


128  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

affection  and  gratitude  of  the  inhabitants  of  Nan 
tucket." 

We  must  now  resume  the  thread  of  our  narrative. 
At  Annapohs  Washington  and  Lafayette  exchanged 
their  last  affectionate  adieux,  and  closed  a  personal 
intercourse  which  is  one  of  the  most  touching  and 
beautiful  passages  in  the  history  of  a  time,  which 
abounded  in  affecting  incidents  and  the  exercise  of 
noble  friendships. 

Lafayette  arrived  on  the  8th  of  December  at 
Trenton,  where  Congress  was  then  in  session,  to 
take  leave  of  that  body.  On  the  9th  he  received 
and  replied  to  the  congratulations  of  the  Legislature 
of  New  Jersey.  On  the  11th,  the  committee  directed 
in  the  following  resolution  of  Congress,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  Mr.  Jay,  performed  the  duty  assigned 
to  them.  The  resolution  passed  Congress  on  the 
9th. 

'•'•Resolved,  That  a  committee,  to  consist  of  one 
member  from  each  State,  be  appointed  to  receive 
the  Marquis,  and  in  the  name  of  Congress  to  take 
leave  of  him.  That  they  be  instructed  to  assure 
him,  that  Congress  continue  to  entertain  the  same 
high  sense  of  his  abilities  and  zeal  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  America,  both  here  and  in  Europe,  which 
they  have  frequently  expressed  and  manifested  on 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  129 

former  occasions,  and  which  tlio  recent  marks  of 
his  attention  to  their  commercial  and  other  interests 
have  perfectly  confirmed.  That,  as  his  uniform  and 
unceasing  attachment  to  this  country  has  resembled 
that  of  a  patriotic  citizen,  the  United  States  regard 
him  with  particular  affection,  and  will  not  cease  to 
feel  an  interest  in  whatever  may  concern  his  honour 
and  prosperity;  and  that  their  best  and  kindest 
wishes  will  always  attend  him. 

'"'■Resolved,  That  a  letter  be  written  to  his  Most 
Christian  Majesty,  to  be  signed  by  his  Excellency 
the  President  of  Congress,  expressive  of  the  high 
sense  which  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, entertain  of  the  zeal,  talents,  and  meritorious 
services  of  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  recom- 
mending him  to  the  favour  and  patronage  of  his 
Majesty." 

To  the  communication  of  the  foregoing,  and  the 
address  of  Mr.  Jay,  the  Marquis  made  the  following 
reply : 

"Sir: — While  it  pleases  the  United  States  in 
Congress  so  kindly  to  receive  me,  I  want  words  to 
express  the  feelings  of  a  heart,  which  delights  in 
their  present  situation  and  the  bestowed  marks  of 
their  esteem. 

"  Since  I  joined  the  standard  of  liberty,  to  this 
I 


130  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

wished-for  hour  of  my  personal  congratulations,  I 
have  seen  such  glorious  deeds  performed,  and  virtues 
displayed  by  the  sons  of  America,  that  in  the  instant 
of  my  first  concern  for  them,  I  had  anticipated  but 
a  part  of  the  love  and  regard  which  devote  me  to 
this  rising  empire. 

"  During  our  revolution,  sir,  I  obtained  an  unli- 
mited, indulgent  confidence,  which  I  am  equally 
happy  and  proud  to  acknowledge ;  it  dates  with  the 
time  when,  an  inexperienced  youth,  I  could  only 
claim  my  respected  friends'  paternal  adoption.  It 
has  been  most  benevolently  continued  throughout 
every  circumstance  of  the  cabinet  and  the  field; 
and  in  personal  friendships  I  have  often  found  a 
support  against  public  difficulties.  While,  on  this 
solemn  occasion,  I  mention  my  obligations  to  Con- 
gress, the  States,  the  people  at  large,  permit  me  also 
to  remember  the  dear  military  companions,  to  whose 
services  the  country  is  so  much  indebted. 

"  Having  felt  both  for  the  timely  aid  of  my  country 
and  for  the  part  which  she,  with  a  beloved  king, 
acted  in  the  cause  of  mankind,  I  enjoy  an  alliance 
so  well  riveted  by  mutual  affection,  by  interest,  and 
even  local  situation.  Recollection  insures  it.  Fu- 
turity does  but  enlarge  the  prospect ;  and  the  private 
intercourse  will  every  day  increase,  which  indepen- 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  131 

dent  and  advantageous  trade  cherishes,  in  proportion 
as  it  is  well  understood. 

"  In  unbounded  wishes  to  America,  sir,  I  am 
happy  to  observe  the  prevaiHng  disposition  of  the 
people  to  strengthen  the  confederation,  preserve 
public  faith,  regulate  trade;  and,  in  a  proper  guard 
over  continental  magazines  and  frontier  posts,  in  a 
general  system  of  militia,  in  foreseeing  attention  to 
the  navy,  to  ensure  every  kind  of  safety.  May  this 
immense  temple  of  freedom  ever  stand,  a  lesson  to 
oppressors,  an  example  to  the  oppressed,  and  a 
sanctuary  for  the  rights  of  mankind !  And  may 
these  happy  United  States  attain  that  complete 
splendour  and  prosperity,  which  will  illustrate  the 
blessings  of  their  government,  and  for  ages  to  come 
rejoice  the  departed  souls  of  its  founders ! 

"  However  unwilling  to  trespass  on  your  time,  I 
must  yet  present  you  with  grateful  thanks  for  the 
late  favours  of  Congress;  and  never  can  they  oblige 
me  so  much,  as  when  they  put  it  in  my  power,  in 
every  part  of  the  world,  to  the  latest  day  of  my 
life,  to  gratify  the  att;ichment,  which  will  ever  rank 
me  among  the  most  zealous  and  respectful  servants 
of  the  United  States." 

Lafayette,  after  this  solemn  and  affecting  farewell, 
repaired  to  New  York,  and  embarked  on  board  La 


132  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

Nymphe  frigate  to  return  to  France.  The  vessel 
sailed  on  the  25th  of  December,  1784.  He  was 
accompanied  to  the  vessel  by  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  the  French  Consul,  the  officers  of  the  army, 
and  a  number  of  citizens.  The  flag  of  the  United 
States  waved  over  the  Battery,  which  gave  him  a 
salute  of  thirteen  guns,  and  La  Nymphe  answered 
with  the  same  number,  as  he  stepped  on  her  deck. 
Little  dreamed  he,  amid  the  auspicious  circumstances 
in  which  he  left  the  United  States,  what  scenes 
awaited  him  in  his  native  country. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  133 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  French  Revolution  —  Prefatory  Remarks — The  Position  of  La- 
fayette—  Assembly  of  the  Notables  —  Lafayette's  Propositions  — 
Convocation  of  the  States-General — It  resolves  itself  into  a  National 
Assembly  —  Lafayette's  Declaration  of  Rights  —  Institution  of  the 
National  Guard — Appointment  of  Lafayette  to  its  Command — De- 
struction of  the  Bastile — Butchery  of  Foulon  and  Berthier — Lafayette 
saves  the  Lives  of  the  Royal  Family — Gratitude  of  the  Court — 
Fraternization  of  the  Soldiers  —  The  Removal  to  Paris  —  Horrid 
Saturnalia. 

E  are  now  approaching  a  portion  of 
the  hfe  of  Lafayette,  in  which  it  is 
more  difficult  to  present  him  to  the 
young  reader  than  in  any  other  part 
of  his  career;  the  participation  which 
he  bore  in  the  French  Revolution.  But 
while  the  friends  of  hereditary  rule  and 
feudal  abuse  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  the  sanguinary  Jacobins,  abused  his 
person,  misrepresented,  his  conduct,  and  vilified  his 
motives,  it  is  clear  that  the  conduct  which  displeased 
both  extremes,  was  based  upon  high  and  sound  prin- 
ciples.    These  principles,  while  at  war  with  oppres- 


134  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

sion  and  hereditary  tyranny,  were  no  less  obnoxious 
to  sanguinary  and  indiscriminate  opposition.  While 
Lafayette  may  claim  the  glory  of  the  enunciation, 
in  Europe,  of  the  great  principles  upon  which  the 
French  Revolution  comm.enced,  he  is  in  no  way  to 
be  held  accountable  for  the  excesses  which  grew 
out  of  their  declaration ;  or  for  the  prostitution  of 
the  name  of  liberty  to  those  foul  and  most  terrible 
massacres  and  murders,  which  make  that  passage 
of  modern  history,  the  eighteenth  century,  more 
than  a  parallel  to  any  page  of  the  ancient  times. 
Indeed,  so  far  from  holding  him  accountable,  the 
reader  will  perceive  that  his  influence  was  among 
the  last  which  was  exerted,  with  any  effect  or  suc- 
cess, against  outrage  and  murder ;  and  that,  indeed, 
he  sacrificed  himself  in  the  effort  to  resist  the  blind 
rage  of  a  maddened  and  an  oppressed  people — who, 
having  burst  at  last  from  restraint,  abused  the  free- 
dom which  they  were  neither  prepared  to  appreciate 
nor  to  improve. 

That  a  necessity  existed  for  a  change  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  French  people ;  that  the  rights  of  the 
individual  were  habitually  unrecognised,  except  those 
of  such  individuals  as  belonged  to  the  privileged 
classes ;  and  that  the  rights  of  any  subject  were  set 
at  naught  and  trampled  upon,  at  the  will  of  absolu- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  135 

tism — expediency,  not  justice,  being  the  only  limita- 
tion to  the  caprices  of  tyranny :  all  these  are  his- 
torical facts — facts  which  can  never  be  forgotten, 
while  their  consequences  are  written  in  such  deep, 
staring,  frightful  letters  of  blood,  as  are  the  records 
of  the  French  Revolution. 

The  arbitrary  taxation  of  two  centuries,  imposed 
by  the  mere  will  of  the  crown,  had  not  sufficed  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  misgovernment  and  the  pro- 
fligacy of  the  Court.  Louis  XVI.,  a  man  who  in 
times  of  ordinary  quiet  would  have  been  remarkable 
for  nothing,  perhaps,  but  his  passive  benevolence, 
came  to  the  throne  at  the  very  time  when  a  man  of 
sterner  stuff  was  necessary  to  breast  the  storm.  A 
tyrant  was  required  to  defend  the  abuses  of  tyranny. 
Louis  gave  way  before  the  pressure  from  without ; 
and  the  very  concessions  which,  in  a  strong  mon- 
arch, might  have  blessed  his  people,  and  formed  the 
foundation  of  an  equitable  and  orderly  government, 
ended  in  the  overthrow  of  the  French  monarchy, 
and  the  long  train  of  terrible  events  which  followed. 
Great  results  have  indeed  been  produced,  but  by  a 
most  terrible  process ;  and  the  time  has  even  now 
hardly  arrived,  when  men  can  look  justly  and  philo- 
sophically upon  the  French  Revolution,  and  weigh 
its  cost  against  its  consequences. 


136  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

It  is  not  to  be  disputed  that,  if  its  impulse  was 
not  absolutely  derived  from  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, the  first  steps  of  its  progress  were  guided  by 
that  great  example.  The  friends  of  freedom  in  this 
country,  hailed  with  joy  the  opening  scenes  of  what 
promised  the  erection  of  a  republic  in  Europe,  and 
the  recognition  of  the  rights  of  man  all  over  the 
world.  That  their  joy  was  turned  to  horror,  as 
the  drama  which  was  opened  with  so  much  fair 
promise  became  so  foul  a  tragedy,  will  readily  be 
conceived.  If  the  position  of  Americans  as  mere 
spectators  was  so  perplexing,  what  must  have  been 
that  of  Lafayette,  whose  principles,  character,  and 
position,  whose  ardent  love  of  justice,  and  love  of 
his  country,  made  him  embrace  with  zeal  the  course 
which  the  voice  of  the  people  indicated  to  him. 
Once  recognised  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
movement,  his  position,  as  has  been  truly  remarked, 
was  "  without  parallel  in  history.  The  annals  of 
the  human  race  exhibit  no  other  instance  of  a  posi- 
tion, comparable  for  its  unintermitted  perils,  its  deep 
responsibilities,  and  its  providential  issues,  with  that 
which  he  occupied  as  commander-general  of  the 
National  Guard,  and  as  a  leader  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly."  It  was  indeed  unparalleled;  and  the 
more  so  that  Lafayette,  far  from  seeking  like  ordi- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  137 

nary  men — and  great  men  are  oftenest  ordinary  in 
this  particular — to  make  circumstances  favourable 
to  his  ambition,  or  to  sacrifice  principles  to  the 
times,  he  was  throughout  consistent  in  his  adher- 
ence to  the  great  aims  with  which  he  commenced ; 
and  when  he  could  no  longer  see  a  prospect  of  de- 
fending or  pursuing  them,  and  had  lost  his  power 
in  averting  evil,  he  abandoned  the  cause  as  hopeless. 
Enlightened,  generous  self-sacrifice,  too  noble  and 
high-minded  for  contemporary  appreciation,  now 
places  his  name  high  in  honour  among  the  bene- 
factors of  his  race. 

In  P'ebruary,  1787,  De  Calonne,  the  F'rench  Mi- 
nister of  Finance,  or  Comptroller-General,  finding 
himself  inextricably  involved,  prevailed  upon  the 
king  to  convene  what  was  called  an  assembly  of 
Notables — a  selection  from  all  the  grandees  and 
dignitaries  of  the  kingdom.  In  this  assembly,  every 
interest  was  represented  but  that  of  the  people.  Of 
this  meeting  Lafayette  was  a  member.  It  was  di- 
vided into  seven  sections  or  bureaux,  each  presided 
over  by  a  prince  of  the  blood  ;  and  Lafayette  was 
a  member  of  the  division  under  the  charge  of  the 
young  Count  d'Artois,  who  in  our  own  time  suc- 
ceeded  to  the  throne  as  Charles  X.,  and   m   the 


138  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

events  connected  with  whose  abdication  in  1830; 
Lafayette  appeared  in  his  last  important  public  acts. 

At  the  convocation  of  the  Notables,  while  others 
were  engaged  in  the  temporary  expedients  which 
called  them  together,  Lafayette's  wishes  and  hopes 
reached  something  more  comprehensive — a  reform 
more  searching.  He  brought  forward  three  im- 
portant propositions: — the  abolishment  of  Lettres 
de  Cachet  and  all  arbitrary  imprisonment ;  the  estab- 
lishment of  religious  toleration  and  restoration  of 
the  civil  rights  of  the  Protestants ;  and  the  convoca- 
tion of  a  national  assembly,  representing  the  people 
of  France. 

The  demand  for  the  creation  of  a  national  as- 
sembly alarmed  the  Count  d'Artois,  even  though  he 
did  not  perceive  its  whole  drift,  but  saw  in  it  only  a 
temporary  convocation  of  the  States-General — that 
is  to  say,  of  the  clergy,  nobihty,  and  representatives 
of  the  people.  The  Assembly  of  the  Notables  re- 
sulted in  nothing  but  the  overthrow  and  dismission 
of  the  Minister,  Calonne.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Necker,  who  endeavoured  to  revive  and  enforce  the 
old  mode  of  taxation  by  edicts.  He  was  resisted 
by  the  Parliaments,  and  as  a  last  resort  recommended 
a  convocation  of  the  States-General,  a  measure 
which  had  not  been  before  resorted  to  for  nearly 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  139 

two  hundred  years.  The  States-General  assembled 
on  the  5th  of  May,  Lafayette  having  a  seat  in  the 
body.  Several  weeks  were  consumed  in  struggles 
between  the  three  orders ;  the  States-General  re- 
solved itself,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1789,  into  the 
National  Assembly,  or  more  properly  into  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly,  as  the  former  term  distinguishes 
the  legislative  body  which  met  under  the  constitution ; 
the  representatives  of  the  people  refusing  to  deli- 
berate in  separate  chambers,  and  compelling  the 
nobility  and  clergy  to  meet  with  them,  or  not  at  all, 
as  legislators. 

On  the  11th  of  July,  Lafayette  submitted  in  the 
National  Assembly  a  declaration  of  rights,  which 
was  the  basis  of  that  afterwards  adopted,  and  pub- 
lished with  the  constitution.  In  the  course  of  the 
debate  which  preceded  its  adoption,  Lafayette  pro- 
nounced the  memorable  sentence:  —  '''•Insurrection 
against  tyrants  is  the  holiest  of  duties.''''  This  has 
served  in  Europe  as  the  theme  of  endless  denuncia- 
tion against  its  author.  Probably,  as  suggested 
by  John  Quincy  Adams,  Lafayette  borrowed  the 
sentiment  from  the  mouth  of  Jefferson — "Rebellion 
against  tyrants  is  obedience  to  God."  How  Lafay- 
ette understood  the  maxim  has  been  shown  in  hia 
conduct.    That  his  countrymen  misapphed  it,  is  one 


140  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

of  the  consequences  of  the  condition  to  which  op- 
pression had  reduced  them  ;  and  in  the  circumstances 
of  the  very  time  at  which  it  was  uttered,  there  was 
sufficient  to  madden  the  nation.  The  king  had 
made  the  effort  to  overawe  the  Assembly  by  sur- 
rounding the  place  where  they  were  in  session  with 
troops.  Thirty-five  thousand  men  were  cantoned 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Paris,  and  twenty  thousand 
more  were  held  in  readiness. 

The  people  rose  in  insurrection,  and  the  Bastile, 
which  had  frowned  upon  France  four  hundred  years, 
and  which  had  once  withstood  a  siege  of  twenty- 
three  days,  was,  on  the  14th  of  July,  destroyed  by 
the  people  in  about  the  same  number  of  hours  that  it 
had  endured  centuries.  With  this  edifice  fell  arbi- 
trary imprisonment,  and  the  "lettre  de  cachet,"  a 
form  of  arrest  which  put  the  life  and  liberty  of  any 
citizen  at  the  power  of  the  crown,  without  assigning 
any  reason  or  specifying  any  offence.  The  key  of 
this  building  was  afterwards  sent  by  Lafayette  to 
Washington.  The  destruction  of  this  prison  was 
an  event  so  glorious  for  the  human  race,  that  all 
men  but  tyrants  and  their  advocates  rejoiced  at  the 
removal  of  such  a  monument  of  despotism ;  while 
the  hurried  and  fiendish  execution  of  the  governor 
and   several  other  persons,  summarily  hanged,  or 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  141 

torn  in  pieces  by  the  mob,  caused  a  shudder  of 
horror.  This  was  but  the  commencement,  however 
of  the  sickening  atrocities  which  accompanied  the 
rising  of  the  French  nation  against  its  hereditary 
oppressors. 

One  of  the  measures  which  grew  out  of  the 
"Constituent  Assembly"  was  the  establishment  of 
the  National  Guard.  Of  this  guard  Lafayette  was 
almost  spontaneously  elected  commander;  a  choice 
confirmed  by  Louis  XVI,  who  on  the  17th  of  July, 
the  day  following  the  election  of  Lafayette,  visited 
Paris,  where  he  was  received  by  the  National  Guard 
with  Lafayette  at  its  head.  This  movement  of 
Louis,  in  whatever  other  light  we  may  regard  it, 
must  be  conceded  to  have  shown  the  possession  of 
courage  and  patriotism ;  and  the  Parisian  populace, 
ever  ready  to  recognise  an  appeal  to  their  confi- 
dence, even  in  those  whom  they  might  the  next  hour 
doom  to  destruction,  celebrated  the  monarch's  ar- 
rival with  shouts  of  Vive  le  Roi ! 

Could  the  duty  of  reorganizing  the  government 
have  been  left  indeed  to  tlie  Constituent  Assembly, 
the  revolution  might  have  been  conducted  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  secure  the  ends  at  which  it  aimed,  if 
not  with  immediate  success,  at  least  without  blood- 
shed and  anarchy.     But  wiiile  the  Assembly  w^ere 


142  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

in  session  at  Versailles,  the  mob  were  at  work  in 
Paris ;  not  only  acting  without  recognition  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Assembly,  but  awing  and  intimi- 
dating it  by  lawless  violence.  While  the  Assembly 
talked  of  insisting  upon  the  king's  recalling  M. 
Necker,  who  had  been  superseded  as  minister  by 
M.  Foulon,  the  latter  fled  in  terror.  He  was  over- 
taken and  brought  before  the  Assembly,  while  the 
people  clamoured  for  his  death.  Lafayette,  as  the 
only  means  of  rescuing  him,  ordered  him  to  be  con- 
ducted to  prison  ;  but  he  was  seized  by  the  mob  and 
hanged,  almost  in  presence  of  the  whole  National 
Assembly.  M.  Berthier,  the  son-in-law  of  Foulon, 
arriving  in  Paris  the  same  evening,  was  massacred 
by  those  who  had  imbued  their  hands  in  the  blood 
of  his  relation.  Both  these  murders  were  com- 
mitted despite  the  entreaties  and  even  tears  of  La- 
fayette, before  whom  the  heart  of  Berthier  was  torn 
from  his  body  and  held  in  exulting  triumph.  Sick- 
ened and  disgusted,  Lafayette  on  the  instant  sur- 
rendered his  command  to  the  Mayor  of  Paris.  In 
his  communication  making  this  tender,  he  declared 
that  though  devoted  to  his  last  breath  to  the  inte- 
rest of  the  people,  he  was  incapable  of  purchasing 
their  favour  by  unjustly  consenting  to  their  wishes. 
He  desired  to  abandon  a  post  in  which  he  said  he 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  143 

could  no  longer  be  useful.  But  this  decision  was 
overruled,  and  at  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  As- 
sembly and  of  the  friends  of  order,  he  was  induced 
to  withdraw  his  resignation.  He  resumed  his  com- 
mand and  his  activity.  Everywhere  present,  he  was 
the  means  of  preventing  many  atrocities,  and  of 
saving  the  victims  of  popular  fury  more  than  once, 
even  after  ruffianly  hands  had  adjusted  the  ropes  at 
the  lamp-hooks,  to  launch  the  objects  of  the  popular 
hate  into  eternity.  Meanwhile,  he  still  laboured  in 
the  Constituent  Assembly,  supporting  with  heart  and 
voice  all  measures  of  true  reform,  and  identifying 
himself  with  whatever  of  good  was  done  by  that 
body. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  sessions  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly  were  held  at  Versailles, 
which  also  had  long  been  the  royal  residence ;  and 
there  resided  what  shadow  of  a  court  remained  to 
the  king.  It  is  situated  about  ten  miles  from  Paris. 
On  the  5th  of  October  the  Parisians  having  deter- 
mined to  insist  upon  the  king's  removal  to  Paris, 
Lafayette,  after  vainly  striving  to  divert  the  Na- 
tional Guard  from  their  resolution,  marched  at  their 
head  to  Versailles.  His  reluctance  to  go  has  caused 
much  animadversion,  principally  from  the  fact  that 
it  was  misunderstood.    The  guard  went,  not  to  pro 


144  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

tect  Versailles,  but  avowedly  to  bring  the  king  to 
Paris.  Had  the  first  been  their  sincere  and  sole 
purpose,  Lafayette  would  have  offered  no  opposi- 
tion ;  and  when  at  last  he  consented,  it  was  to  turn 
their  obstinacy  and  anarchy  to  a  better  account 
than  they  had  intended.  He  hesitated  to  undertake 
the  defence  of  the  king,  in  a  mode  that  might  result 
in  the  opposite  of  the  thing  purposed ;  but  having 
at  last  divided  the  responsibility  with  the  municipality 
of  Paris,  he  set  out  with  eight  battalions. 

The  public  distrust  had  been  excited  by  rumours, 
since  established,  that  it  was  the  purpose  to  remove 
the  king  to  Metz.  Famine  existed  in  Paris,  in  part 
the  effect  of  natural  causes,  in  part  the  consequence 
which  must  follow  long-continued  disturbance  of  the 
public  peace,  and  suspension  of  law  and  order. 
The  people  were  also  irritated  beyond  measure  by 
feasts  and  fetes  of  the  aristocracy  and  Life-Guards, 
which  the  royal  family  countenanced  at  least,  if  they 
did  not  participate  in  them.  A  hungry  mob  from 
Paris,  principally  women,  first  took  possession  of 
the  chambers  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  inter- 
rupting the  debates,  applauding,  and  even  embracing 
their  favourites.  The  President  of  the  Assembly 
and  fifteen  of  the  members,  went  with  twelve  women 
of  the  dregs  of  Paris  to  the  king.     He  received 


L  1  F  K     OF     LAFAYETTE.  145 

them  courteously,  and  they  retired  pacified;  but 
their  infuriated  companions  without  would  have 
murdered  them,  had  not  the  Life-Guards  rescued 
the  unlucky  deputies  from  their  companions.  Now 
began  confusion  and  serious  tumult.  Shots  were 
fired,  and  wounds  given ;  when  toward  midnight 
Lafayette  arrived  at  the  scene  with  his  battahons. 
It  had  been  a  stormy  march.  Several  times  the 
commander's  life  had  been  threatened ;  but  he  suc- 
ceeded at  last  in  bringing  his  troops  to  such  a  dis- 
position, having  sworn  them  to  faithfulness  to  the 
king,  that  he  had  confidence  in  them ;  and  they  did 
not  betray  that  confidence. 

Lafayette  reported  his  arrival,  first  to  the  Assem- 
bly, and  then  at  the  palace.  Here  again  the  blind 
observance  of  military  etiquette,  of  which  we  have 
before  had  occasion  to  speak,  produced  a  serious 
difficulty.  Had  he  received  entire  charge  of  the 
palace,  interior  as  well  as  exterior,  the  memorable 
night  of  October  5th,  1789,  would  have  passed,  if 
not  quietly,  at  least  without  the  outrage  and  murder 
with  which  it  was  stained.  He  left  the  interior  to 
officers  there  in  command,  and  placed  strong  guard? 
on  the  outposts.  Meanwhile,  the  authorities  in 
charge  of  the  palace  sent  to  their  homes  in  the 
town  the  greater  number  of  the  officers  of  the  Life- 

K 


146  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

Guards,  and  sent  away  to  Rambouillet  four  hundred 
of  those  troops. 

Trusting  that  others  had  done  their  duty  as  well 
as  himself — the  mischief  was  an  error  arising  from 
a  command  divided  without  concert — and  deceived 
by  the  appearance  of  tranquillity,  Lafayette,  after 
assuring  the  king  that  all  was  quiet,  and  himself 
passing  the  whole  night  in  securing  that  tranquillity, 
naturally -sought  some  repose.  He  had  now  been 
without  rest  for  twenty-four  hours.  So  judiciously 
had  he  arranged  his  posts  that  not  one  of  them  was 
attacked  or  disturbed.  No  reports  reached  him  to 
lessen  his  confidence ;  and  about  five  o'clock,  having 
partaken  some  slight  refreshment,  he  threw  himself 
upon  a  bed. 

It  was  raining,  and  the  streets  of  Versailles,  filled 
with  the  infuriated  and  hungry  people,  were  a  perfect 
pandemonium.  Large  groups  of  savage  and  in- 
toxicated men  and  women  were  seated  around 
watch-fires,  singing  the  terrible  songs  of  that  period. 
"In  one  of  these  circles,"  says  Alison,  "their  exas- 
peration was  such  that,  seated  on  the  corpse  of  one 
of  the  body  guard,  they  devoured  the  flesh  of  his 
horse,  half  roasted  in  the  flames,  while  a  ring  of 
frantic  cannibals  danced  around  the  group !"  Such 
were  the  populace  against  whom  Lafayette  had  to 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  147 

contend,  in  an  unpopular  cause,  and  with  an  army 
whose  sympathies  were  by  no  means  in  the  duty  on 
which  they  were  employed ;  and  who,  indeed,  were 
desirous  of  reaching  the  result  for  which  the  mob 
clamoured,  though  they  aimed  to  attain  it  by  a  more 
moderate  path. 

About  six  o'clock  a  straggling  party  came  in  col- 
lision with  some  of  the  Life-Guards.  One  of  them 
fired  from  the  windows  of  the  palace.  There  was 
a  frantic  yell,  and  a  rush  from  all  the  streets  toward 
the  palace.  Unfortunately  one  of  the  iron  gates 
had  been  left  open,  and  the  crowd  pushed  in.  They 
encountered  two  of  the  guards,  who  disputed  their 
passage  step  by  step ;  while  a  faithful  servant  shouted 
"  Save  the  Queen !"  and  one  of  the  officers  of  the 
guards  conducted  her  to  the  king's  apartments. 
Scarcely  had  she  left  when  the  brigands  entered  her 
chamber,  and  furious  at  finding  she  had  escaped, 
vented  their  impotent  rage  in  stabs  through  the 
mattress  from  which  she  had  but  an  instant  before 
fled.  Others  dragged  the  bodies  of  two  of  the  slain 
life-guardsmen  below  the  windows  of  the  king,  and 
beheading  them,  paraded  the  heads  upon  their  pikes 
through  the  streets  of  Versailles. 

A  good  commander  is  present  everywhere  by  his 
orders.     A  portion  of  the  command  of  Lafayette, 


148  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

who  were  stationed  near  the  palace,  hastened  at 
once  to  the  rescue,  and  dispersed  the  brigands  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  gate.  Lafayette,  who 
had  not  yet  fallen  asleep,  sprang  upon  the  first  horse 
he  met  and  repaired  instantly  to  the  spot.  A  few 
hours  before  he  had  actually  been  refused  admittance 
to  the  king's  apartments.  He  had,  as  we  have 
before  said,  been  denied  the  charge  of  the  interior 
of  the  palace ;  and  as  the  next  best  position,  repaired 
to  the  house,  still  near  the  palace,  where  his  staff 
received  reports. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  palace,  he  found  some  of  the 
body-guards  in  the  hands  of  the  mob.  They  would 
inevitably  have  been  sacrificed.  With  the  earnest 
appeal  which  he  knew  so  well  how  to  make,  he 
urged  his  grenadiers  to  rescue  them.  They  per- 
formed that  apparent  impossibility,  and,  under  the 
orders  of  Lafayette,  conducted  the  veterans  they 
had  rescued  to  the  palace,  where  they  rejoined  their 
comrades.  Meanwhile,  the  heroic  Lafayette  re- 
mained alone  among  the  brigands  who  had  been 
arrested  in  their  fell  purpose.  He  was  strong  in  his 
invincible  courage  and  high  purposes.  One  villain 
in  the  crowd  levelled  his  piece  at  him,  and  cried  out 
to  the  mob,  "  Kill  him !"  Lafayette  coolly  directed 
the  man  to  be  brought  to  him.  The  mob — how 
variable  is  the  satanic  disposition  of  an  infuriated 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  149 

crowd ! — seized  the  culprit,  and  dashed  out  his  brains 
upon  the  pavement !  Lafayette  then  repaired  to  the 
palace,  and  found  there  such  a  force  of  his  own 
troops,  that  immediate  danger  was  now  over,  and 
the  Life  Guards  and  National  Guards  were  embrac- 
ing each  other  and  exchanging  cockades.  The 
shout  arose,  "  Lafayette  for  ever  !" — and  the  whole 
court  overwhelmed  him  with  gratitude  for  having 
saved  their  lives.  And  when,  at  this  dispassionate 
period,  we  review  his  conduct  through  the  whole  of 
this  most  trying  and  difficult  affair,  we  know  not 
which  most  to  admire,  his  prudence,  his  courage  and 
skill,  or  his  self-sacrificing  disinterestedness.  The 
first  quality  made  him  reasonably  hesitate  to  lead 
men  to  Versailles,  who  had  many  of  them  more 
than  connived  at  the  movements  of  the  mob ;  in  his 
management  of  such  an  army  we  perceive  consum- 
mate ability  and  fearlessness  ;  and  surely  no  greater 
disinterestedness  could  be  shown,  than  in  his  suc- 
cessful defence  of  a  court  which  had  treated  him 
with  ill-concealed  distrust. 

The  people  still  clamoured  for  the  removal  of  the 
king  to  Paris.  When  this  was  decided  upon,  La- 
fayette again  showed  his  wisdom,  by  presenting  first 
the  king  and  then  the  queen  to  the  people,  upon  the 
balcony.  He  knew  his  countrymen.  A  chance 
shot  might  have  killed  either ;  but  the  people  were 


150  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

taken  by  the  romance  of  the  movement,  and  shouted 
vivas  !  for  the  persons  whom  they  had  hardly  been 
prevented  from  massacreing  in  their  beds.  He  then 
led  out  one  of  the  Life-Guards,  and  placing  upon 
him  his  own  shoulder-belt,  was  greeted  with  new 
plaudits. 

The  principal  bands  of  the  rioters  now  proceeded 
to  Paris,  carrying  with  them  on  pikes  the  heads  of 
the  butchered  guardsmen.  "  Surely,"  says  the  au- 
thor of  the  Memoirs  of  Lavalette,  "  Satan  himself 
first  invented  the  placing  of  a  human  head  upon  the 
point  of  a  lance !  The  disfigured  and  pale  features, 
the  gory  locks,  the  half-opened  mouth,  the  closed 
eyes,  frightful  images  of  death,  added  to  the  ges- 
tures and  salutations  which  the  fiends  made  these 
dreadful  objects  perform,  in  horrible  mockery  of  life, 
presented  the  most  hideous  spectacle  that  rage  could 
have  invented.  A  troop  of  women,  ugly  as  crime 
itself,  swarming  with  insects,  and  wearing  grena- 
diers' hairy  caps,  went  continually  to  and  fro,  howling 
barbarous  songs."  It  is  an  error,  however,  to  say 
that  this  hideous  spectacle  accompanied  the  return 
of  the  king.  Lafayette  sent  a  detachment  after 
them  to  prevent  their  turning  back;  and  though 
their  escape  could  not  be  prevented,  they  reached 
Paris,  their  trophies  were  taken  from  them,  and  they 
were  dispersed,  before  even  the  king  left  Versailles 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  151 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Banishment  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans — Suspicions  against  hira— Emi- 
gration of  the  Nobility — Activity  of  Lafayette — Grand  Fete  of  the 
Confederation — Preparations  for  it — Solemnity  of  the  Mass — Per- 
formance of  the  Te  Deum — Mutual  Oaths,  by  Lafayette  as  the  Re- 
presentative of  the  Nation,  and  by  the  People,  the  King,  and  Queen 
—  Disinterestedness  of  Lafayette — Attempt  on  the  Castle  of  Vin- 
cennes — The  King  prevented  from  leaving  Paris — Resignation  of  his 
Command  by  Lafayette — He  is  persuaded  to  resume  it — ^The  King's 
Flight  to  Yarennes — Mutinous  Assembly  in  the  Champ  de  INIars — 
Resignation  of  Lafayette,  and  its  Acceptance  with  high  Honour. 

.AVING  succeeded  in  saving  the  life 
of  the  kincr  and  of  his  life-guards, 
and  in  protecting  the  Constituent 
Assembly,  Lafayette  received  the 
thanks  of  the  Court,  and  a  formal 
expression  of  the  same  feeling  from 
the  Assembly,  which  now  removed  to  Paris. 
The  full  danger  to  which  the  king  had  been 
exposed  in  the  insurrection  of  October  was 
not  clearly  known;  though  it  was  suspected,  and 
with  reason,  that  no  spontaneous  or  unconcerted 
rising  could  have  been  so  formidable.  It  was 
charged  boldly  that  the  Duke  of  Orleans  had,  in 


152  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

conjunction  with  Mirabeau,  determined  to  remove 
the  king,  and  even  to  put  him  to  death ;  and  that 
the  duke  was  to  have  been  proclaimed  heutenant- 
general  of  the  kingdom.  Lafayette,  without  investi- 
gating this  charge,  satisfied  himself  that  Orleans  had 
fomented  the  rabble,  and  encouraged  the  mutinous 
disposition  of  the  National  Guards.  Some  step  was 
necessary  to  get  rid  of  a  man  so  dangerous.  To 
arrest  him  in  a  time  of  so  much  excitement  would 
have  been  impolitic,  if  not  absolutely  dangerous; 
and  Lafayette,  with  soldierlike  promptness,  informed 
him  that  his  passport  was  ready  for  him,  that  Eng- 
land was  deemed  the  most  fitting  country  for  him  to 
retire  to,  and  that  to  cover  his  retreat  he  would  be 
furnished  with  a  commission  from  the  king,  to  pro- 
duce as  the  ostensible  reason  of  his  journey.  The 
Duke  of  Orleans,  probably  conscience-stricken,  sub- 
mitted at  once.  It  is  said  however  by  others,  that 
he  made  some  objections,  remarking,  "  My  enemies 
say  you  possess  proofs  against  me."  "They  are 
rather  my  enemies,"  answered  Lafayette;  "if  I 
were  capable  of  producing  proofs  against  you,  you 
would  already  have  been  arrested." 

The  removal  of  the  king  to  Paris  was  an  event 
full  of  important  consequences.  Not  the  least 
among  them  was  the  commencement  of  the  "  emi- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  153 

gration,"  so  often  spoken  of  in  the  annals  of  the 
revolution.  The  Count  d'Artois,  afterward  Charles 
X.,  was  at  Turin  with  his  father-in-law ;  and  the 
noblesse  of  France  who  left  the  country  at  the  ap- 
proach of  the  storm,  and  after  its  commencement, 
repaired  to  him,  and  even  kept  up  the  show  of  a 
court,  and  the  effort  to  reconquer  the  land  from 
which  they  were  exiled.  They  did,  indeed,  under 
the  encouragement  of  foreign  powers,  make  some 
incursions  into  France ;  and  after  the  death  of  Louis 
XVI.  recognised  his  heir  as  king. 

But  as  we  remarked  in  treating  of  that  part  of 
the  hfe  of  Lafayette  connected  with  the  American 
Revolution,  it  is  impossible  in  this  brief  biography 
to  give  an  account  of  all  the  public  events  of  the 
time.  We  must  even  pass  lightly  over  many  of  his 
personal  acts,  selecting  for  more  elaborate  descrip- 
tion, those  which  have  the  greatest  personal  interest 
and  the  most  public  importance.  After  the  removal 
of  the  king  to  Paris,  Lafayette  continued  most  active, 
not  only  in  his  military  duties,  as  commander  of  the 
National  Guards,  but  in  his  capacity  as  a  member 
of  the  Constituent  Assembly.  As  commander  of 
the  guards,  in  January,  1790,  he  suppressed  a  most 
dangerous  sedition,  which  had  for  its  first  object  the 
summary  execution  of  the  Baron  de  Bezenval,  not- 


154  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

withstanding  his  acquittal  of  conspiracy,  with  which 
he  had  been  charged ;  and  during  other  legal  pro- 
ceedings, when  the  mob  made  demonstrations  of 
interference,  his  promptness  was  equally  effectual. 
In  the  Assembly,  among  his  memorable  speeches, 
was  one  seconding  the  proposition  to  abolish  all  titles 
of  nobility ;  and,  true  to  his  principles,  he  ever  after 
refused  the  title  of  Marquis. 

The  next  public  event  in  which  Lafayette  bore  a 
prominent  part  was  the  fete  of  the  Confederation, 
celebrated  on  the  14th  of  July,  the  anniversary  of 
the  destruction  of  the  Bastile.  Deputations  and 
volunteers  arrived  from  all  parts  of  France  to  assist 
in  the  ceremonies ;  and  though  two  thousand  men 
were  employed  in  preparing  the  Champ  de  Mars,  an 
immense  field  in  front  of  the  Military  School,  for  the 
ceremonies,  it  was  still  feared  that  the  preparations 
would  not  be  complete,  and  the  crowds  in  Paris 
were,  with  great  adroitness,  induced  to  lend  their 
assistance.  This  occupation  probably  prevented 
outbreaks ;  and  it  certainly  added  in  no  small  degree 
to  the  interest  of  the  ceremonies,  that  everybody 
had  participated  in  the  preparations  for  them.  All 
sorts  of  people,  men  and  women  of  all  ranks,  pro- 
fessions, and  callings,  vied  with  each  other  in  their 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  155 

labours,  and    the   preparations  were   scarcely  less 
imposing  than  the  ceremony  itself. 

Three  hundred  thousand  spectators  awaited  the 
arrival  of  the  National  Assembly  and  the  long  train 
of  "  confederates"  from  all  parts  of  France — and 
waited,  too,  dripping  with  rain  and  splashed  with 
mud.  As  soon  as  the  first  confederates  arrived 
they  struck  up  a  dance,  in  which  they  were  joined 
by  the  National  Guards;  and  the  three  hundred 
thousand  spectators  witnessed  the  strange  spectacle 
of  sixty  thousand  dancing  men ;  a  spectacle  which 
could  by  no  possibility  have  been  witnessed  out  of 
Trance.  The  sky  cleared,  the  sun  shone  out,  and 
as  the  whole  procession  filed  into  the  immense  arena, 
the  Bishop  of  Autun,  better  known  now  as  the  cele- 
brated Talleyrand,  proceeded  to  celebrate  the  mass. 
He  blessed  the  banners — he  struck  up  the  Te  Deum 
— twelve  hundred  musicians  played  that  hymn,  and 
peals  of  cannon  thundered  their  base  to  the  solemn 
voice  of  the  choristers.  Altogether  the  ceremony 
was  unquestionably  one  of  the  most  imposing  ever 
witnessed,  notwithstanding  its  incongruous  introduc- 
tion. Perhaps  that  very  contrast  heightened  the 
effect.  Three  hundred  priests,  in  white  surplices 
and  tri-coloured  scarfs,  stood  upon  the  steps  and 
base  of  the  "altar  of  the  confederation,"  which 


156  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

was  built  in  the  centre  of  the  arena,  elevated  twenty- 
five  feet  from  the  ground. 

Lafayette,  as  the  head  of  the  national  militia, 
alighting  from  his  horse,  ascended  the  steps  of  the 
throne,  which  was  placed  on  one  side  of  the  amphi- 
theatre, and  receiving  from  the  king  the  form  of  the 
oath,  proceeded  with  it  to  the  altar.  All  the  banners 
waved,  and  thousands  of  sabres  glistened  in  the  sun, 
while  the  trumpets  brayed,  and  the  clangour  of  an 
immense  host  of  musicians  waked  every  heart  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  enthusiasm. 

All  eyes  were  turned  to  him  who  now  stood  be- 
fore this  great  concourse,  the  representative  of  the 
nation.  He  rested  the  point  of  his  sword  upon  the 
Bible,  and  raised  his  arm  to  Heaven.  The  music 
ceased,  the  mighty  multitude  held  their  breaths  in 
silence,  and  Lafayette  pronounced  the  words: — 
"  We  swear  to  be  for  ever  faithful  to  the  nation,  to 
the  law,  and  to  the  king ;  to  maintain  to  the  utmost 
of  our  power  the  constitution  decreed  by  the  Na- 
tional Assembly,  and  accepted  by  the  king."  A 
solemn  flourish  of  instruments,  preluding  the  dis- 
charge of  cannon,  announced  the  completion  of  this 
part  of  the  ceremony.  Sabres  and  banners  waved, 
and  all  the  people  shouted,  "  Vive  h  Roi !  Vive  le 
Nation .'"    The  President  of  the  National  Assembly 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  157 

repeated  the  oatli,  and  the  mighty  multitude,  each 
for  himself,  responded,  " I  swear!"  The  king  fol- 
lowed, with  the  form  arranged  for  him;  and  the 
queen,  taking  the  dauphin  in  her  arms  and  holding 
him  up  to  the  people,  exclaimed,  '■'Behold  my  son! 
He  joins  me  in  these  sejitiments  /"  "  Vive  le  Roi ! 
Vive  la  Reine  !  Vive  le  Dauphin  /"  And  amid  the 
deafening  roar  of  artillery,  the  noise  of  instruments, 
and  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  this  great 
solemnity  closed.  The  sun  now  shone  in  unclouded 
splendour.  "  It  seemed,"  says  Ferrieres,  "  as  if  it 
had  pleased  God  himself  to  witness  this  mutual  con- 
tract, and  to  ratify  it  by  his  presence.  Yes,  he  did 
both  see  and  hear  it;  and  the  terrible  calamities 
which  ever  since  that  day  have  not  ceased  to  deso- 
late France — oh  Providence,  ever  active  and  ever 
faithful!  —  are  the  just  punishments  of  perjury! 
Thou  hast  stricken  both  the  monarch  and  the  sub- 
jects who  violated  their  oath  !" 

In  September  of  this  year  an  effort  was  made  to 
induce  Lafayette  to  accept  the  indemnity  which  was 
legally  his,  for  the  immense  expenditures  which  he 
had  been  obliged  to  incur  in  maintainino-  his  station. 
He  steadily  but  respectfully  refused.  His  fortune 
he  said  was  considerable.  "  It  has,"  he  wrote  to 
the  Assembly  "  sufficed  for  two  revolutions,  and  if  a 


158  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

third  shall  occur  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  it 
shall  belong  wholly  to  it." 

The  year  1791  opened  with  alarming  tokens  of 
a  seditious  spirit.  Its  first  serious  manifestation 
was  on  the  28th  of  February,  when  an  attempt  was 
made  to  destroy  the  Castle  of  Vincennes.  The 
mob  were  already  at  work;  and  a  detachment  of 
National  Guards,  which  had  been  despatched  to  the 
spot,  seemed  much  more  ready  to  second  than  to 
resist  the  populace.  Lafayette  repaired  thither,  and 
succeeded  in  bringing  the  guard  to  a  sense  of  their 
duty,  and  arresting  sixty  of  the  rioters,  whom  he 
marched  through  the  most  seditious  quarter  of  Paris, 
and  lodged  in  prison.  While  this  difficulty  was 
going  on  at  the  Castle  of  Vincennes,  another  dis- 
turbance was  taking  place  at  the  palace  of  the 
Tuilleries.  Some  indiscreet  friends  of  the  king  had 
admitted  several  hundred  armed  men,  for  the  defence 
of  the  king,  very  much  to  the  irritation  of  that  por- 
tion of  the  National  Guards  who  were  on  duty  at 
the  palace,  and  who  naturally  considered  this  inter- 
ference, made  without  consultation  with  them,  a  re- 
flection upon  their  loyalty.  To  pacify  the  Guards, 
Lafayette  ordered  these  men  to  be  disarmed  and 
dismissed. 

The  public  mind  was  now  in  great  agitation,  ag- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  159 

gravated  by  the  events  we  have  just  related.  When 
the  royal  family  attempted  to  leave  Versailles  to 
pass  the  Easter  holidays  at  St.  Cloud,  the  populace 
surrounded  the  coaches  and  would  not  permit  their 
departure.  The  National  Guards  instead  of  oppos- 
ing joined  the  mob,  and  closing  before  the  coach, 
detained  the  king  in  it  for  two  hours,  exposed  to  the 
insults  of  the  people  and  the  mutinous  soldiery. 
Lafayette  in  vain  ordered  them  to  open  to  the  right 
and  left  and  permit  the  coach  to  pass.  He  offered 
to  force  a  passage,  but  the  king  would  not  consent. 
On  the  next  day  he  sent  in  his  resignation,  observing 
that  as  the  troops  would  no  longer  obey,  he  would 
abdicate  a  command  which  was  merely  nominal. 

The  guards  besought  Lafayette  to  resume  the 
command,  sending  him  deputations  from  all  the  bat- 
talions. The  municipality,  and  other  citizens  of 
Paris,  seconded  them  ;  but  he  persisted  in  his  refusal, 
grounding  it  on  the  fact,  that  proofs  were  given  of 
attachment  to  him  but  not  to  the  laws.  Then  the 
battalions  met,  and  passed  resolutions  expressive  of 
their  determination  to  respect  the  law  and  the  con- 
stitution, and  obey  the  commander,  whoever  he 
might  be.  Upon  this,  at  the  solicitation  of  the 
Mayor  and  a  deputation  of  the  council,  Lafayette 
consented  again  to  serve;  and  the  first  measure  ho 


160  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

proposed  was,  to  lead  his  command  to  the  palace, 
where  he  addressed  the  king  in  the  name  of  the 
guards,  and  received  a  gracious  reception  and  an- 
swer, which  the  troops  acknowledged  with  loyal 
acclamations. 

The  emigration  of  the  noblesse,  the  countenance 
given  to  the  exiles  by  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  and 
the  well-founded  suspicion  that  the  royal  family  were 
in  correspondence  with  them,  kept  the  public  mind 
in  terrible  excitement,  which  the  Jacobins  did  not  fail 
to  foment.  The  great  fear  was  that  the  king  would 
escape,  rejoin  his  former  friends,  and  operate  against 
France.  The  king,  whose  life  was  passed  in  con- 
stant fear  of  violence,  did  attempt  to  escape,  and 
succeeded,  on  the  night  of  the  20th  of  June,  in  get- 
ting out  of  the  capital.  Many  unfortunate  delays 
and  accidents  occurred,  but  Louis  succeeded  in 
reaching  Varennes.  There  he  was  arrested,  having 
been  recognised  at  several  points  on  the  route ;  and 
amid  excessive  insults  and  annoyances  was  brought 
back  to  Paris — the  return  occupying  eight  days,  to 
accommodate  the  pace  of  the  guards.  The  flight 
took  place  at  midnight;  Lafayette  was  not  apprised 
of  it  until  six  o'clock.  The  mob  accused  him  of 
conniving  at  and  assisting  the  flight;  and  nothing 
but  his  courage,  and  the  confidence  which  the  people 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  161 

reposed  in  him,  prevented  his  destruction.  He  faced 
the  infuriated  crowd  alone,  and  disarmed  them  by 
his  firmness.  He  was  compelled  to  despatch  a  mes- 
senger after  the  royal  fomily ;  but  the  arrest  had 
taken  place  before  his  aid-de-camp  reached  Varennes. 
On  the  return  of  the  unhappy  fugitives,  he  took  such 
measures  as  enabled  the  royal  party  to  alight  in 
safety,  and  without  insult.  A  public  notice  had 
been  widely  distributed  : — "Whoever  applauds  the 
king  shall  he  flogged — whoever  insults  him  shall  be 
hanged.''''  He  was  received  in  perfect  silence,  and 
by  a  decree  of  the  Assembly  placed  under  guard  in 
the  palace — Lafayette,  as  commander,  being  thus 
his  jailor.  The  matter  of  his  flight  occupied  the 
Assembly  until  the  16th  of  July,  when  it  was  de- 
clared by  resolution,  based  on  the  report  of  the  com- 
missioners appointed  to  investigate  the  case,  that  in 
this  flight  there  was  nothing  culpable.  Lafayette 
performed  his  duty  as  guard  over  the  king  conscien- 
tiously; he  opposed  with  energy  the  efforts  which 
were  made  in  the  Assembly  to  declare  that  the  king 
had  abdicated.  He  drew  on  himself  at  once  the 
displeasure  of  the  king,  and  the  hatred  of  the  ene- 
mies of  the  crown.  In  relation  to  the  flight,  he  was 
charged  by  the  Jacobins  with  having  promoted  it, 

L 


162  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

and  by  the  royalists  with  having  caused  the  arrest  j 
while  a  third  set  of  accusers  have  not  scrupled  to 
combine  the  two  charges,  and  assert  that  he  pro- 
cured both  flight  and  arrest.  Perhaps,  as  had  been 
suggested,  he  was  ignorant  of  the  departure  of  the 
king,  but  winked  at  that  of  the  queen.  Whatever 
Lafayette  may  have  thought  or  done,  if  the  return 
of  the  king  was  desired  by  him,  he  was  an  exception 
to  all  save  the  Jacobins.  The  wise  and  moderate 
would  have  been  heartily  glad  if  Louis  had  escaped, 
for  his  arrest  was  a  capital  error.  With  his  usual 
eye  to  peace,  Lafayette  moved  a  decree  of  amnesty 
to  all  who  had  assisted  in  the  flight  or  journey. 
During  the  debates  on  the  disposition  of  the  subject 
of  the  "  flight,"  Lafayette  declared  in  the  Chamber, 
that  if  any  violence  was  offered  to  the  king  he  would 
proclaim  Louis  XVIL,  at  the  head  of  the  National 
Guard. 

The  decision  of  the  Assembly  relative  to  the  king 
did  not  please  the  Jacobins ;  and  they  procured  an 
assembly  in  the  Champ  de  Mars  on  the  17th  of  July, 
the  object  of  which  purported  to  be  to  sign  a  peti- 
tion against  the  re-establishment  of  Louis.  People 
flocked  to  the  place  where,  a  year  before,  they  had 
sworn  fealty  to  the  king  and  the  law,  breathing  fury 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  163 

against  the  one  and  contempt  of  the  other.  Murders 
were  committed — martial  law  was  proclaimed — La- 
fayette, at  the  head  of  the  guards,  repaired  to  the 
scene  of  confusion ;  and  after  enduring  insult  and 
outrage,  his  own  life  having  been  attempted,  and 
several  of  the  soldiers  and  some  of  the  officers 
wounded,  he  fired,  first  with  blank  cartridges,  which 
as  usual  in  such  cases  increased  the  violence  of  the 
mob,  then  with  ball,  which  suppressed  the  riot. 
Greater  order  and  tranquillity  were  conferred  upon 
Paris,  than  the  city  had  for  a  long  time  known. 

The  royal  prisoner  had  accepted  the  constitution  ; 
and  Lafayette,  alleging  that  the  occasion  which  re- 
quired his  services  was  now  over,  resigned  his  post 
as  commander  of  the  National  Guard.  The  city 
of  Paris  caused  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck  in  his 
honour,  and  presented  him  with  a  sword,  and  a  bust 
of  Washington.  He  retired  to  his  estate  in  Au- 
vergne,  and  there  remained  until  April,  1792,  when 
he  was  called  to  command  in  the  army.  During  his 
short  retirement  he  had  been  put  in  nomination  as 
Mayor  of  Paris,  in  opposition  to  the  Jacobin  Pethion. 
Pethion  was  successful  by  an  immense  majority,  not 
only  his  popularity,  but  the  influence  of  the  court, 
being  opposed  to  Lafayette.     Strange,  that  short- 


164  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

sighted  displeasure  against  Lafayette  should  have 
excited  the  royal  family  to  favour  the  interests  of 
one  of  their  worst  enemies,  and  to  aid  in  elevating 
a  man  who  had  made  himself  disgustingly  and 
personally  disagreeable  during  the  return  from  Va- 
rennes.  But  so  it  was,  and  bitterly  did  Louis  after- 
ward lament  the  folly. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  165 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Lafayette  appointed  to  the  Army — Resists  the  Jacobins — The  Disor- 
ders of  the  20th  of  June — Lafayette  appears  at  the  Bar  of  the  As- 
sembly—  Abortive  Attempt  to  check  the  Jacobins  —  Jacobin  Rage 
against  him — He  arrests  the  Commissioners  sent  against  him — 
Is  arrested  by  the  Austrians,  and  tampered  with  by  the  Allies — Is 
imprisoned,  first  by  the  Prussians,  and  then  by  the  Austrians — In- 
effectual Attempt  at  Escape  —  Devotion  of  Madame  Lafayette — 
Efforts  of  the  American  Minister  and  Government — Liberation  of 
Lafayette. 

AFAYETTE  was,  in  April,  1792,  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  three  major-gene- 
rals who  commanded  the  French 
armies,  and  soon  after  was  named 
Heutenant-general,  and  marshal  of 
France.  The  Jacobin  faction,  which  had 
now  become  paramount,  had  compelled  the 
declaration  of  war  against  Austria  ;  and  was 
at  the  same  time  eno^ai^ed,  as  it  had  been  from 
the  beginning,  in  the  origin  or  aggravation  of  all 
the  disorders  which  harassed  France.  Had  the 
counsels  of  Lafayette  and  other  moderate  men  and 
true  friends  of  France  prevailed,  the  commencement 
of  hostiUties  would  have  been  thrown  upon  Austria. 


166  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

Nevertheless,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  com- 
mand which  had  been  tendered  to  him,  and  repaired 
to  his  post,  where  early  opportunities  occurred,  to 
offer  signal  though  not  brilliant  services  to  his 
country,  in  the  resistance  of  the  invasion  which 
followed  the  declaration  of  war. 

Meanwhile  the  Jacobins,  sure  by  their  strengtn 
in  the  clubs  of  controlling  the  action  of  the  Assem- 
bly, or,  failing  in  this,  of  intimidating  that  body  by 
tumultuous  assemblages,  were  proceeding  with  fright- 
ful strides  toward  the  violences  which  they  afterward 
committed.  Lafayette,  no  longer  a  member  of  the 
legislative  body — as  none  who  were  members  of  the 
Constituent  could  be  elected  to  the  National  As- 
sembly— still  did  not  shrink  from  assuming  the  re- 
sponsibility of  resisting  the  growing  power  of  the 
Jacobins.  The  Assembly  had  passed  three  decrees 
to  which  the  king  refused  his  assent.  These  decrees 
disbanded  the  king's  constitutional  guards,  directed 
the  formation  of  a  camp  of  twenty-thousand  men  at 
Paris  to  defend  the  capital,  and  put  it  in  the  power 
of  any  twenty  men  to  procure  the  exile  of  a  priest 
by  denouncing  him.  The  ministry,  all  of  the  Jaco- 
bin faction,  were  dismissed  ;  and  the  excitement  was 
increased  by  a  letter  of  Lafayette  to  the  Assembly, 
in  which  he  fearles&ly  denounced  the  Jacobin  clubs 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  167 

as  the  cause  of  all  the  disturbances,  and  earnestly 
called  upon  the  legislature  to  put  down  the  domina- 
tion of  the  clubs. 

The  Jacobins  now  deternnined  upon  an  insurrec- 
tion, under  the  cover  of  presenting  a  petition  to  the 
Assembly.  A  mob  of  twenty  thousand  men  filed 
before  the  Assembly,  accompanied  by  women  and 
children,  dancing,  and  singing  revolutionary  songs, 
carrying  seditious  flags,  and  such  emblems  as  ragged 
garments,  held  aloft  with  the  cry,  '■'■Vivent  les  sans 
culottes  /"  The  most  horrible  emblem  of  all  was  a 
calf's  heart,  pierced  by  a  pike,  and  inscribed,  "  The 
heart  of  an  aristocrat^ 

This  mob,  after  passing  through  the  hall  of  the 
Assembly,  proceeded  to  the  Tuilleries,  into  which 
they  forced  their  way,  and  demanded  of  the  king 
the  sanction  of  the  decrees  which  he  had  refused, 
with  cries  of  "  No  veto  ! — no  priests  ! — no  aristo- 
crats !"  The  king  answ^ered  with  firmness,  that  this 
was  neither  the  place  nor  the  moment  to  sanction 
the  decrees,  but  that  he  would  do  all  that  the  con- 
stitution required.  ^'•Vive  la  Nation  P''  shouted  the 
assailants.  "  Yes,"  replied  Louis,  '•''vive  la  Nation  ! 
I  am  its  best  friend  !"  "  Prove  it  then  !"  said  one 
of  the  rabble,  presenting  him  a  Jacobin's  red  cap 
on  the  point  of  a  pike.     A  refusal  to  take  it  would 


168  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

have  been  of  no  service,  and  might  have  cost  the 
king  his  Hfe.  He  placed  it  upon  his  head.  Bona- 
parte, who  afterward  swayed  Paris  as  one  man,  was 
a  spectator  of  this  outbreak  from  tiie  garden  of  the 
Tuilleries.  When  the  king  showed  himself  at  the 
window  with  the  red  cap  upon  his  head,  the  future 
emperor  could  no  longer  restrain  his  indignation, 
but  cried  to  Bourienne  who  stood  with  him :  "  What 
madness !  How  could  they  allow  the  scoundrels  to 
enter!  They  ought  to  have  blown  four  or  five 
hundred  of  them  into  the  air,  and  the  rest  would 
have  taken  to  their  heels !" 

Eight  days  after  this,  Lafayette  arrived  in  Paris, 
alone.  He  was  immediately  waited  upon  by  several 
battalions  of  the  National  Guard,  and  his  friends  in 
the  capital  exhibited  every  mark  of  continued  at- 
tachment. Great  hopes  on  one  side  and  great  fears 
on  the  other  w'ere  entertained  from  his  presence.  It 
was  supposed  either  that  he  would  be  followed  by  the 
army,  or  that  he  must  have  strong  friends  in  the 
capital,  to  venture  upon  such  a  step  as  he  had  taken. 
He  appeared  unattended  before  the  bar  of  the  Na- 
tional Assembly,  and  demanded  the  punishment  of 
all  instigators  and  performers  of  the  violence  of  the 
20th,  when  the  Assembly  was  bearded  in  its  session, 
and  the  king  in  his  palace.     He  insisted  upon  the 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  169 

suppression  of  the  Jacobin  clubs,  and  required  that 
the  Assembly  should  take  care  of  the  internal  peace 
while  the  army  was  defending  the  frontier  from 
foreign  foes.  His  discourse  was  at  first  received 
with  applause,  but  the  arts  of  the  Jacobins  turned 
the  tide  against  him ;  and  the  most  he  could  procure 
was  leave  to  have  his  petition  referred.  This  was 
not  effected,  however,  without  a  stormy  debate, 
during  which  the  Jacobin  orators  managed  with 
much  address  to  defeat  the  great  efiect  which  the 
manly  address  of  Lafayette  had  produced  upon  the 
Assembly.  Lafayette  made  one  more  effort.  He 
called  upon  the  National  Guard  to  muster  with  him, 
and  shut  up  the  hall  of  the  Jacobins  —  but  only 
thirteen  persons  presented  themselves;  and  thus 
finding  every  effort  abortive,  he  left  Paris  and  re- 
turned to  the  army,  on  the  30th  of  June,  after  two 
days'  stay  in  Paris. 

The  fury  of  the  Jacobins  was  now  systematically 
directed  against  Lafayette.  He  was  denounced  as 
a  foe  to  liberty,  his  effigy  was  burned  by  the  popu- 
lace, and  he  was  accused  of  having  proposed  to 
march  upon  Paris  with  the  army.  A  project  for  his 
impeachment  was  brought  before  the  Assembly,  and 
the  last  independent  act  of  that  body  was,  on  the 
8th  of  August,  to  reject  by  a  large  majority  the 


170  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETE. 

proposal  to  impeach  Lafayette.  On  the  very  next 
day  the  members  declared  by  resolution,  that  the 
sessions  of  the  Assembly,  in  consequence  of  the 
conduct  of  the  Jacobins,  were  no  longer  free. 

On  the  10th  occurred  the  fearful  insurrection 
during  which  the  palace  of  the  Tuilleries  was 
stormed.  The  king  and  royal  family  took  refuge 
with  the  National  Assembly.  The  mob  sacked  the 
palace;  butchered  the  unfortunate  Swiss  Guards 
almost  to  a  man ;  and  destroyed  all  the  works  of 
art  upon  which  they  could  lay  their  hands,  with  a 
truly  Vandal  ferocity.  They  then  proceeded  to  the 
National  Assembly,  which,  no  longer  possessing  even 
the  semblance  of  free  agency,  was  compelled  to  issue 
a  decree,  suspending  the  regal  functions,  and  placing 
the  king  in  prison,  to  save  him  from  instant  destruc- 
tion by  the  furious  mob.  To  these  events  succeeded 
the  hideous  murders  of  the  first  of  September,  when 
the  prisons  of  Paris  were  emptied  of  their  tenants  by 
ruthless  murder ;  and  the  bodies  of  men  and  women, 
pulled  limb  from  limb,  were  paraded  in  bleeding  and 
ghastly  fragments  about  the  streets  of  Paris,  upon 
the  points  of  lances.  Many,  whose  appeals  had 
assisted  in  raising  this  state  of  things,  would  have 
checked  it ;  but  the  eloquence  which  was  potent  to 
produce  was  powerless  to  allay  the  fearful  storm. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  171 

We  have  now  done  with  the  events  of  the  French 
Revolution,  as  Lafayette  was  no  longer  a  partici- 
pant in  them.  He  had  seen  the  impending  horrors, 
and  striven  to  no  purpose  to  rally  the  friends  of 
order  to  prevent  them.  He  had  in  vain  besought 
the  king  and  royal  family  to  take  refuge  with  the 
army.  Great  astonishment  was  produced  among 
the  troops  by  the  events  in  Paris.  At  first  there 
seemed  a  hope  that  his  soldiers  would  support  him ; 
and  he  even  caused  the  arrest  of  the  commissioners 
who  had  been  sent  to  the  camp  by  the  Assembly, 
now  under  the  control  of  the  Jacobins.  But  every 
day  increased  the  difficulties  of  his  position.  De- 
fection to  the  cause  of  the  Jacobins  was  hourly  in- 
creasing among  his  troops.  Even  had  they  all  been 
faithful  to  him,  if  he  had  marched  upon  Paris,  the 
king  would  have  been  instantly  massacred ;  and  if 
he  had  raised  the  standard  of  resistance  against  the 
Assembly,  he  would  have  been  attacked  by  the  other 
armies.  France  was  pressed  upon  on  all  sides  by 
foreign  foes ;  and  he  ended  at  last  the  painful  un- 
certainty in  which  he  was  placed,  by  abdicating  his 
command,  and  withdrawing  from  the  army  and  the 
country. 

On  the  night  of  the  19th  of  August,  accompanied 
by  seven  friends,  he  left  the  army,  and  fell  in  with 


172  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

an  advanced  guard  of  the  Austrians.  They  desired 
passports,  but  when  it  was  discovered  who  they 
were  this  was  refused.  An  effort  was  made  to 
sound  Lafayette,  with  the  hope  that  he  would  attach 
himself  to  the  "  emigrants ;"  but  Lafayette  refused 
to  converse  with  the  Count  d'Artois,  and  this  hope 
was  abandoned.  They  were  next  visited  by  an 
Austrian  major,  commissioned  to  receive  the  trea- 
sure, which  it  was  supposed  Lafayette  had  secured, 
and  which,  the  major  remarked,  would  be  seques- 
tered in  behalf  of  his  Christian  Majesty.  "  All  that 
I  understand  of  this  strange  commission,"  said  La- 
fayette, "  is,  that  had  he  been  in  my  place,  M.  the 
duke  of  Saxe  Teschen  would  have  stolen  the  military 
chest  of  the  army !" 

The  seizure  was  made  in  the  neutral  territory  of 
Liege;  and  Lafayette  with  his  companions  was 
transferred  by  the  Austrians  to  Prussian  guards. 
They  were  detained,  not  as  prisoners  of  war,  for 
which  there  was  no  pretext,  but  as  prisoners  of  State. 
They  were  first  conducted  to  Wesel,  on  the  Rhine, 
under  every  circumstance  of  indignity,  and  were 
thence  removed  to  Magdeburg,  Glatz,  and  Niesse. 
After  remaining  about  two  years  in  the  hands  of  the 
Prussians,  they  were  transferred  to  the  Austrians, 
who    imprisoned    them    in   the   castle   of   Olmutz 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  173 

While  in  the  hands  of  the  Prussians,  several  over- 
tures were  made  to  betray  his  supposed  feelings 
against  France  into  the  assistance  of  the  allies;  and 
it  was  the  resistance  of  these  temptations  which 
increased  the  rigour  of  his  sufferings. 

When  Lafayette  entered  the  Austrian  prison  of 
Olmutz,  he  was  warned  that  the  four  walls  of  his 
dungeon  would  thereafter  be  to  him  the  world,  that 
he  would  never  receive  news  from  without,  and  that 
his  name  would  be  unknown  in  the  citadel,  and  in 
all  official  reports — he  would  be  designated  by  a 
number.  He  was  informed  that  he  would  never 
receive  any  notice  of  his  family,  or  of  the  existence 
of  his  fellow-prisoners;  and,  in  short,  that  his  life 
would  pass  in  complete  isolation  and  solitude.  With 
a  mock  of  humanity,  knives  and  forks  were  taken 
from  him,  as  he  was  informed  that  his  situation 
would  be  such  as  naturally  to  provoke  suicide ! 
The  walls  of  the  dungeon  were  of  such  massive 
thickness,  as  scarcely  to  admit  a  breath  of  air 
through  the  loop-holes ;  and  what  did  enter,  came 
loaded  with  pestilential  miasma  from  the  ditch 
beneath  the  wall.  During  rains  the  loop-holes  were 
gutters  through  which  streams  of  water  poured  in , 
and  except  when  the  sun  shone,  this  dismal  den 
was  in  almost  total  darkness.     The  furniture  con- 


174  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

sisted  of  a  miserable  bed,  full  of  vermin,  and  a  broken 
chair  and  table ;  and  under  these  terrible  privations 
and  positive  inflictions,  Lafayette  was  more  than 
once  brought  to  the  borders  of  the  grave,  his  hair 
falling  from  his  head  by  the  excess  of  his  sufferings 
and  destitution.  Unremitted  pursuance  of  such  a 
system  would  have  procured  his  death ;  and  he  was 
at  length  permitted  first  to  walk  daily  in  the  fortress, 
and  then  to  more  extended  privileges,  as  will  appear 
in  the  progress  of  our  narrative.  Still,  even  under 
the  most  favourable  circumstances,  his  condition  was 
wretched  enough.  He  was  permitted  to  know  no- 
thing of  his  family  positively,  and  what  gleams  of 
intelligence  reached  him  were  of  a  terrible  character. 
His  wife  was  in  prison,  his  estates  were  sequestered, 
and  his  name  furnished  a  title  for  a  crime,  which  the 
Jacobins  punished  with  death.  That  crime  was 
attachment  to  the  constitution,  of  the  solemn  ratifi- 
cation of  which,  in  the  Champ  de  Mars,  the  reader 
is  aware.  It  was  called  Fayetteism.  Thus,  un- 
wittingly, did  his  enemies  bear  testimony  to  his 
consistency  and  honesty.  His  persecution  by  the 
despots  of  Europe,  and  his  proscription  by  the 
Jacobins,  equal  in  vindictiveness  and  coincident  in 
duration,  form  a  key  to  his  character.  His  virtuous 
moderation  and  true  patriotism   suited  neither  ex- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  175 

treme ;  and,  being  above  the  gurrender  of  his  prin- 
ciples to  circumstances,  he  sacrificed  himself  to 
aims  which  his  enemies  would  not,  and  many  of  his 
friends  could  not  appreciate. 

In  1794,  Dr.  Erick  Bollman,  with  the  knowledge 
only  that  Lafayette  was  in  an  Austrian  prison,  set 
about  the  enterprise  of  discovering  him,  and  attempt- 
ing his  release.  By  well-directed  manoeuvres,  as  an 
inquisitive  traveller,  making  inquiry  into  so  many 
things,  that  he  established  a  reputation  for  curiosity 
which  made  no  question  seem  strange  for  him,  he 
at  last  discovered  the  particular  fortress  in  which 
Lafayette  was  immured.  Satisfied  at  last  that  he 
was  at  Olmutz,  Dr.  Bollman  made  the  military  sur- 
geon the  unconscious  bearer  of  messages,  written  in 
the  blank  leaves  of  books  with  sympathetic  ink.  It 
was  thus  arranged  between  Dr.  Bollman  and  La- 
fayette, that  the  attempt  should  be  made  to  rescue 
the  latter,  when  the  prisoner  was  permitted  to  ride 
for  his  health,  a  privilege  which  had  now  been  con- 
ceded to  him.  This  relaxation  in  the  severity  of 
his  confinement  had  been  procured  through  the 
earnest  representations  of  the  American  govern- 
ment, and  the  friends  of  the  Marquis. 

An  assistant  was  necessary.  Dr.  Bollman  com- 
municated his  purpose  to  Francis  Kinlock  Huger,  a 


176  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

young  American,  at  whose  father's  house  Lafayette 
was  a  guest  when  he  first  landed  in  America. 
Young  Huger,  with  an  ardour  which  does  his  cha- 
racter high  credit,  and  which  will  perpetuate  his 
name  in  history,  with  that  of  Dr.  Bollman,  as  long 
as  Lafayette  is  remembered,  or  generous  adventure 
is  admired,  entered  at  once  with  his  whole  heart  into 
the  plan. 

Lafayette  on  these  excursions  rode  in  an  open 
carriage,  with  an  officer,  two  soldiers  as  a  guard, 
and  a  driver — four  men;  quite  sufficient  for  the 
custody  of  one,  where  no  rescue  was  apprehended. 
Dr.  Bollman  and  Mr.  Huger  had  never  seen  him; 
but  signs  for  their  mutual  recognition  were  arranged. 
The  two  adventurers  rode  past  the  carriage,  and 
satisfied  themselves  which  was  the  prisoner.  They 
followed  till  the  carriage  stopped,  and  Lafayette 
descended  with  the  officer  to  walk.  The  two  com- 
panions rode  up  —  Lafayette  at  the  same  instant 
seized  the  officer's  sword  by  the  hilt.  The  officer 
resisted ;  but  Dr.  Bollman  having  dismounted,  as- 
sisted Lafayette  to  disarm  the  Austrian,  and  all  three 
fell  to  the  ground  together.  The  officer  made  a 
terrible  outcry  for  assistance,  while  the  guard  in- 
stead of  rendering  any  ran  away.  Dr.  Bollman 
held  the  officer,  while  Lafayette  rose  and  mounted 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  177 

one  of  the  horses.  The  other,  unfortunately,  had 
slipped  his  bridle  and  run,  though  a  peasant  was 
holding  him  at  a  little  distance. 

Mr.  Huger  told  Lafayette  to  "go  to  i/o/,"  the 
town  at  which  a  conveyance  was  waiting,  and  gave, 
him  a  purse.  Lafayette  unfortunately  understood 
him  to  say  "  go  q^,"  and  after  some  hesitation  rode 
away.  The  officer  now  followed  the  guard  back  to 
Olmutz,  and  Bollman  and  Huger  mounted  the  other 
horse. 

Everything  had  been  well  arranged.  One  of  the 
horses  was  trained  to  carry  double,  and  a  convey- 
ance was  waiting  at  Hoff,  which  would  have  carried 
all  clear.  But  unfortunately  the  double  horse  was 
the  one  which  Lafayette  had  taken ;  and  the  other, 
untractable  under  his  heavy  load,  threw  both  Huger 
and  the  Doctor.  Huger  insisted  upon  Dr.  Bollman's 
taking  the  horse,  while  he  would  take  his  chance  on 
foot  for  his  escape.  But  the  alarm  was  now  given ; 
Huger  was  soon  secured  and  carried  to  Olmutz. 
Dr.  Bollman  pushed  on  to  Hoff,  hoping  to  find  La- 
fayette there,  waited  in  vain  for  him,  till  he  was 
arrested,  and  conducted  also  to  Olmutz.  Lafayette, 
with  his  indefinite  directions,  took  the  wrong  road, 
was  suspected,  arrested,  and  detained  till  he  was 
recognised  and  reconducted  to  prison.     His  physical 

M 


178  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

sufferings  were  doubled ;  he  was  loaded  with  heavy 
chains,  and  to  all  this  was  added  terrible  mental 
misery.  During  the  few  days  that  he  was  out,  he 
had  heard  appaUing  stories  of  the  sanguinary  doings 
of  the  French  Revolution,  and  knew  not  how  many 
of  his  friends  had  fallen  under  the  revolutionary  axe. 
He  was  in  terror  for  his  wife.  He  was  told  also, 
that  his  deliverers  had  perished  on  the  scaffold,  and 
that  he  himself  was  now  reserved  for  public  execu- 
tion. His  chivalric  friends,  after  a  tedious  imprison- 
ment, and  a  wearisome  process  of  examination, 
were,  after  some  months,  set  at  liberty. 

While  Lafayette  was  suffering  imprisonment  from 
the  crowned  despots,  his  wife  was  enduring  perse- 
cution from  that  most  terrible  of  all  tyrants,  an  in- 
furiated faction,  above  the  restraint  of  all  law.  She 
was  arrested  on  the  10th  of  August,  1793,  and  sent 
with  her  daughters  to  Paris,  where  she  was  impri- 
soned among  the  condemned.  Her  mother,  her 
grandmother,  and  sister  perished  upon  the  scaffold ; 
and  she  herself  was  in  daily  expectation  of  death, 
when  the  counter  revolution  of  July  27th,  1794,  put 
an  end  to  the  reign  of  terror,  and  stayed  the  bloody 
guillotine.  She  was,  however,  detained  in  prison 
some  months  longer,  making  the  whole  term  in 
Paris  about  a  year  and  a  half. 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  179 

On  the  9th  of  September,  1793,  Madame  La- 
fayette, furnished  with  an  American  passport  as 
Mrs.  Motier,  by  Governeur  Morris,  then  American 
Minister  to  France,  proceeded  to  Vienna,  and  ob- 
tained an  audience  of  the  emperor.  She  prayed  the 
liberation  of  her  husband,  or  permission  to  share 
his  captivity.  On  the  first  point  she  was  told  that 
the  emperor's  hands  were  tied,  and  she  did  not  hesi- 
tate for  an  instant  to  embrace  the  other  condition  of 
the  alternative  she  had  proposed,  and  with  her  two 
daughters,  Anastasia  and  Virginia,  aged  respectively 
sixteen  and  thirteen,  joined  her  husband  in  prison. 
Here  the  devoted  wife  and  children  remained  twenty- 
two  months.  Once  she  prayed  to  be  permitted  to 
spend  a  week  in  Vienna,  for  the  restoration  of  her 
health  and  the  benefit  of  advice.  She  was  told, 
after  two  months'  delay  in  the  answer,  that  no  ob- 
jection would  be  made  to  her  leaving  the  prison, 
but  that  she  must  not  come  to  Vienna,  nor  expect 
to  be  readmitted  to  her  husband's  prison.  This 
fixed  her  determination.  She  remained,  enduring 
with  her  husband  and  her  daughters  all  the  horrors 
of  imprisonment,  until  the  liour  of  liberation  arrived. 
Her  health  suffered  a  terrible  shock  from  these  afflic- 
tions; and  she  died  in  1806,  having  never  fully  re- 
covered from  their  eflfects.     "  The  history  of  female 


180  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

virtue  and  heroism,"  remarks  M.  de  Stael,  "  presents 
nothing  more  rare  in  excellence,  than  the  life  and 
character  of  Madame  de  Lafayette."  Fit  com- 
panion for  such  a  husband,  her  name  will  share  with 
his  the  homage  of  a  world. 

On  the  19th  of  September,  1797,  the  captives 
were  liberated.  They  were  conducted  under  escort 
to  Hamburg,  where,  on  the  4th  of  October,  they 
were  surrendered  by  the  Austrian  Minister  to  Mr. 
Parish,  the  American  Consul,  who  had  engaged  to 
the  emperor  to  remove  them  from  Germany  within 
ten  days.  The  meeting  between  Lafayette  and  Mr. 
Parish  was  most  affecting.  Despotism  desired  that 
the  liberation  of  the  prisoner  should  be  quiet  and 
secret ;  but  the  world's  enthusiasm  in  the  case  of 
Lafayette  never  could  be  checked.  An  immense 
crowd  of  sympathizing  people  lined  the  streets,  and 
attended  the  hero  of  the  two  worlds  to  the  American 
consul's  house ;  and  his  heart  was  refreshed  with 
the  evidence,  that  more  than  five  years'  imprison- 
ment, with  the  expressed  intention  of  burying  him 
alive,  had  not  caused  his  name  to  be  forgotten,  or 
his  services  to  humanity  to  pass  out  of  memory. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  liberation  of  Lafay- 
ette was  the  success  of  Napoleon.  Under  instruc- 
tion from  the  Directory,  probably  at  his  own  sug- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE,  181 

gestion,  the  young  general  insisted  at  the  treaty  of 
Campo  Formo,  that  the  prisoners  of  Olniutz  should 
be  released.  The  Austrians,  complying  with  an  ill 
grace,  wished  to  couple  Lafayette's  manumission 
with  degrading  conditions ;  but  his  spirit  unbroken 
by  his  sufferings,  he  declared  he  would  never  accept 
his  freedom  with  any  stipulations  which  should 
compromise  his  rights  as  a  Frenchman,  or  as  an 
America?!  citizen. 

While  to  Napoleon  is  due  the  credit  of  cutting 
short  negotiation  for  Lafayette  by  his  energetic 
conduct,  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  Washington 
had  left  no  measure  untried.  In  1796,  Mr.  Morris 
in  France,  Mr.  Pinckney  in  London,  Mr.  Parish, 
consul  at  Hamburg,  and  all  the  American  ministers 
abroad,  were  instructed  to  use  their  influence  to 
obtain  his  liberty,  or  ameliorate  his  condition. 
Washington  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Emperor  of 
Germany,  which  was  transmitted  through  the  Aus- 
trian minister  in  London.  Mr.  Parish,  at  Ham- 
burg, obtained  permission  to  transmit  to  Lafayette 
small  sums  of  money,  large  sums  being  interdicted ; 
and  thus  toward  the  close  of  his  imprisonment  his 
sufferings  were  relieved.  Mr.  Morris  furnished  Ma- 
dame Lafayette  with  twenty  thousand  florins,  and 
transmitted  to  Lafayette  ten  thousand  in  small  sums 


182  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

In  the  British  Parliament,  the  gallant  soldier 
Gen.  Fitzpatrick,  brought  forward  a  motion  to  re- 
quest his  Majesty  to  intercede  for  the  deliverance 
of  Lafayette  and  his  companions.  He  was  sup- 
ported by  Col.  Tarleton,  who  had  met  Lafayette  in 
his  American  campaigns — and  by  Sheridan,  Wilber- 
force,  Fox,  and  Grey.  Fox's  speech  was  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  of  his  efforts;  and  although  the 
policy  of  the  then  ministry  forbade  any  special  in- 
terference under  the  circumstances,  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  this  bringing  forward  the  enormous 
wrongs  of  Lafayette  into  the  light  of  day,  aided  in 
forcing  the  crowned  jailors  of  the  hero  to  yield  to 
the  rebuking  sentiments  of  the  world,  and  to  open 
his  prison  doors  for  very  shame. 

The  intention  to  release  him  was  formally  an- 
nounced to  the  American  consul  at  Hamburg,  in 
September,  1797,  on  account  of  "  the  particular 
interest  which  the  United  States  appear  to  take 
in  the  liberation  of  this  prisoner ;"  and  in  one  of 
his  despatches  the  Austrian  minister  says: — "You 
will  take  care  to  inform  the  American  consul,  that 
his  Majesty  having  made  no  positive  engagement  with 
the  French  respecting  the  enlargement  of  this  prisoner, 
the  motive  of  the  particular  interest  that  the  United 
States  of  America  appear  to  attach  to  it,  has  con- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  183 

tributed  not  a  little  to  engage  his  Majesty  in  this 
beneficent  action." 

There  is  Httle  doubt,  that  without  the  terror  of 
the  rising  star  of  Napoleon,  Austria  would  have 
remained  deaf  to  all  negotiations  and  entreaties; 
but  we  preserve  the  testimony  in  the  above  authentic 
documents,  to  show  that  in  his  imprisonment  Ame- 
rica was  not  unmindful  of  her  benefactor,  and  that 
Washington  did  not  forget  his  adopted  son. 


184  LIFE     OF    LAFAYETT 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Lafayette's  Return  to  La  Grange — His  Consistent  Course  in  reference 
to  Napoleon — The  Fall  of  the  Emperor,  and  Restoration  of  the 
Bourbons — Resolution  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States — La- 
fayette visits  America — His  Reception  in  New  York  —  Route  to 
Boston — Reception  in  that  City — Return  to  New  York — Journey  up 
the  Hudson — Reception  in  Philadelphia — Baltimore — Washington 
— Virginia — Visit  to  Jefferson — Return  to  Washington— Proceedings 
in  Congress — Southern  and  Western  Tour — Bunker  Hill  Monument. 

FTER  Lafayette's  restoration  to  free- 
dom, he  spent  two  years  in  the 
Danish  territory  of  Holstein,  and 
the  Bavarian  territory  of  Utrecht. 
He  was  still  under  proscription ;  but 
the  consular  government  was  pro- 
claimed in  France,  in  1799,  he  repaired  to 
La  Grange.  His  son,  George  Washington 
Lafayette,  had  returned  from  America;  and 
in  everything  but  the  declining  state  of  his  wife's 
health,  his  domestic  relations  were  most  delightful, 
and  peace  rewarded  his  life  of  toil  and  change.  He 
resisted  all  efforts  to  bring  him  into  public  life ;  and 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  185 

when  Napoleon  would  have  made  hirn  one  of  his 
new  order  of  peers,  he  said  with  great  candour  to 
Bonaparte  himself,  that  "from  the  direction  which 
public  affairs  were  taking,  what  he  already  saw,  and 
what  it  was  easy  to  foresee,  it  did  not  seem  suitable 
to  his  character  to  enter  into  a  new  order  of  things, 
so  contrary  to  his  principles,  and  in  which  he  would 
have  to  contend  without  success,  as  without  public 
utility,  against  a  man  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for 
great  obligations."  When  a  short  time  afterward 
he  was  summoned  to  vote  on  the  question,  whether 
Napoleon  should  be  consul  for  life,  he  added  to  his 
vote  the  following  comment:  "I  cannot  vote  for 
such  a  magistracy  until  the  public  liberty  shall  have 
been  sufficiently  guarantied;  and,  in  that  event,  I 
vote  for  Napoleon  Bonaparte." 

Through  the  next  ten  years  Lafayette  remained 
in  quiet  at  La  Grange.  His  son  and  son-in-law, 
receiving  no  countenance  from  the  emperor,  re- 
mained with  the  father;  and  thus,  while  Europe 
rang  with  the  clangour  of  war,  Lafayette,  who  had 
more  than  once  held  the  destiny  of  France  in  his 
hands,  presided,  happier  than  any  crowned  head,  in 
his  domestic  empire.  Nor  did  he  come  out  from 
his  retirement  at  the  first  restoration  of  the  Bour- 
bons.   "  Silent,"  says  Adams,  in  his  eloquent  eulogy, 


186  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

"amid  the  deafening  shouts  of  victory  from  Marengo, 
and  Jena,  and  Austerhtz,  and  Friedland,  and  Wa- 
gram,  and  Borodino ;  silent  at  the  conflagration  of 
Moscow,  at  the  passage  of  the  Beresina,  at  the 
irretrievable  discomfiture  of  Leipsic,  at  the  capitu- 
lation of  the  gates  of  Paris,  and  at  the  first  restora- 
tion of  the  Bourbons  under  the  auspices  of  the  in- 
veterate enemies  of  France,  as  little  could  Lafayette 
participate  in  that  restoration  as  in  the  usurpations 
of  Napoleon." 

Lafayette  remained  in  retirement  until  the  return 
of  Napoleon  from  Elba,  within  a  year  from  the  day 
in  which  he  had  been  exiled  to  that  island.  He  was 
then  urged  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers, 
again  refused,  and  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
popular  chamber ;  which  he  entered,  with  the  deter- 
mination to  direct  all  his  efforts  "  to  make  the 
chamber  of  which  he  was  a  member,  a  representa- 
tion of  the  French  people,  and  not  a  Napoleon 
Club."  During  the  twelve  days  from  the  opening 
of  the  Chambers  to  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  Lafay- 
ette was  a  silent  member,  voting  for  all  judicious 
supplies,  on  the  ground  that  France  was  invaded. 
It  was  not  until  Napoleon  returned  from  Waterloo, 
and  proposed  by  a  despotic  force  to  dissolve  the 
Assembly,  levy  a  new  army,  and  assume  the  Dicta- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  IS" 

torship,  that  Lafayette,  for  the  first  time  in  over 
twenty  years,  ascended  the  tribune,  as  is  the  custom 
in  the  French  Legislature,  and  addressed  the  As- 
sembly. The  emperor,  who  was  in  council  when 
he  heard  that  Lafayette  was  about  to  speak,  changed 
countenance,  and  betrayed  his  knowledge  that,  in 
such  a  case,  all  his  prospect  of  a  dictatorship  was 
over.  At  the  instance  of  Lafayette,  the  Assembly 
declared  themselves  in  perman'ent  session,  and  that 
any  attempt  to  dissolve  the  body  should  be  de- 
nounced as  high  treason.  After  a  fruitless  effort  to 
obtain  a  decree  from  the  Assembly  establishing  a 
dictatorship.  Napoleon  abdicated  in  favour  of  his 
son.  The  Assembly  strove  to  treat  with  the  allies ; 
a  commission  being  appointed,  with  Lafayette  at  its 
head,  for  that  purpose.  This  commission  indig- 
nantly rejected,  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  peace, 
the  surrender  of  Napoleon  into  the  power  of  the 
allies.  Lafayette  replied,  that  Napoleon  having 
voluntarily  abdicated,  his  person  was  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  national  gratitude  and  honour ;  and 
that  "  when  it  was  proposed  to  the  French  people 
to  commit  such  an  act  of  unexampled  treachery,  he 
did  not  think  that  the  prisoner  of  Olmutz  would  be 
selected  as  the  fittest  agent  for  its  execution."  But 
the  allies  had  no  intention  of  treating  with  the  repre- 


188  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

sentatives  of  the  nation.  Their  purpose  was  to 
defend  the  rights  of  monarchs  as  monarchs  under- 
stand them,  and  not  to  recognise  the  rights  of  the 
people.  They  put  Louis  again  on  the  throne  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  closed  and  guarded  the  As- 
sembly chamber,  and  imposed  a  dynasty  upon  the 
people,  to  be  again  overthrown  at  a  later  period. 
The  members  had  no  power  to  resist,  France  was 
wearied  and  weakened  with  wars ;  the  Assembly 
signed  a  fearless  and  eloquent  protest  against  this 
arbitrary  exercise  of  power,  and  returned  to  their 
homes.  Lafayette  went  back  to  La  Grange,  in- 
flexibly refusing  to  resume  his  title  of  nobility,  and 
his  place  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers ;  and  declaring 
on  more  than  one  occasion,  when  forms  brought  the 
question  up,  that  he  adhered  to  the  resolution  of  the 
Constituent  Assembly,  by  which  titles  were  abolished. 
He,  however,  was  almost  constantly  in  the  Repre- 
sentative Chamber  by  election,  though  the  influence 
of  the  Court  sometimes  succeeded  in  preventing  it. 
Lafayette  having  expressed  his  intention  of  re- 
visiting the  United  States,  Congress  unanimously 
passed,  in  February,  1824,  a  resolution  directing 
the  President  to  assure  him  of  the  grateful  recollec- 
tion of  the  American  people,  and  tendering  him  a 
national  ship  for  his  passage  hither.    But  with  his 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  189 

consistent  love  of  true  republicanism,  he  preferred 
to  take  his  passage  in  a  private  ship ;  and  on  the 
16th  of  August,  1824,  arrived  at  New  York  in  the 
Cadmus,  Capt.  Allyn.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
son,  George  Washington  Lafayette,  M.  Auguste  de 
Vasseur,  and  one  servant.  His  arrival  opened  a 
series  of  grateful  pageants,  which  in  splendour 
surpassed  anything  exhibited  before  in  America; 
and  in  sincerity,  heartiness,  and  spontaneous  move- 
ment, displayed  a  spectacle  of  the  moral  sublime, 
which  the  world  has  seldom  witnessed.  In  mere 
pomp  and  glitter,  a  tyrant  may  command  all  that 
art  can  do  in  the  semblance  of  triumph ;  but  the 
heartfelt  offerings  of  a  free  people  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  all  save  those  who  deserve  that  people's 
gratitude. 

Lafayette  landed  on  Staten  Island  on  the  15th  of 
August,  where  he  passed  the  night.  On  the  day 
following  a  fleet  of  steamboats  went  down  to  the 
Island,  to  convey  and  escort  him  to  the  city,  includ- 
ing the  war-steamer,  Robert  Fulton ;  and  on  board 
of  these  were  over  six  thousand  persons,  besides  the 
committee  of  the  corporation,  members  of  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Cincinnati,  revolutionary  officers  and 
soldiers,  a  deputation  from  West  Point,  and  many 
other  distinguished  guests  and  official  personages. 


190  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

New  York  bay  never  presented  a  more  magnificent 
spectacle  than  on  this  occasion.  The  shipping  were 
all  liberally  decorated  with  flags  and  signals.  The 
day  was  delightful,  and  the  surface  of  the  water 
was  dotted  with  every  imaginable  description  of 
craft  in  their  holiday  array.  Continual  salutes  of 
artillery  rolled  out  their  deep  base  above  the  shouts 
of  welcome  and  congratulation,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
the  great  city  of  New  York,  conscious  of  its  honour 
in  speaking  the  first  welcome  to  the  nation's  guest, 
was  determined  to  do  itself  credit  by  enthusiasm 
and  heartiness.  On  shore  hundreds  of  bells  were 
ringing,  and  the  very  air  seemed  vocal  with  the 
music  of  welcome.  As  the  fleet  arrived  oflf  the 
Battery,  at  two  o'clock,  P.  M.,  the  scene  was  most 
impressive.  The  military  formed  in  line  were  over 
three  thousand  in  number;  and  as  the  national 
guest  landed,  he  was  received  with  a  salute  of 
twenty-one  guns,  and  the  acclamations  of  between 
thirty  and  forty  thousand  people,  who  filled  the 
Battery,  and  the  adjacent  streets  and  avenues.  All 
places  where  a  foot-hold  could  be  obtained,  to  the 
very  roofs  of  the  buildings,  were  filled  with  specta- 
tors ;  and  to  give  a  full  idea  of  the  moral  grandeur 
and  beauty  of  the  scene,  is  beyond  the  ability  of 
any  pen  in  description.     No  Roman  triumph  in  the 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  191 

proudest  days  of  the  Eternal  City  ever  gave  welcome 
like  this ;  no  man,  in  any  age,  ever  received  testi- 
mony so  glorious  of  the  gratitude  of  a  great  nation. 
The  susceptible  and  gratified  patriot  was  more  than 
once  affected  to  tears ;  particularly  when,  under 
circumstances  so  overpowering,  he  exchanged  con- 
gratulations with  his  former  companions  in  arms. 
We  may  here  remark,  that  the  numerous  evidences 
which  Lafayette  gave  of  his  distinct  memory  of 
places,  incidents,  names,  and  persons,  was,  through- 
out his  whole  American  journey,  truly  wonderful. 
After  a  review  of  the  troops,  which  must  have 
awakened  deep  emotions  in  the  mind  of  him  who 
could  but  recollect  the  condition  of  the  American 
army  nearly  half  a  century  before,  Lafayette  pro- 
seeded  to  the  City  Hall,  in  a  barouche  drawn  by 
four  horses.  He  was  escorted  by  a  troop  of  horse, 
and  followed  by  the  long  column  of  citizen  soldiery. 
Such  was  the  crowd,  that  the  march  was  very  much 
impeded ;  all  eyes  were  directed  to  the  one  point  of 
attraction,  all  voices  raised  in  acclamations  of  wel- 
come. Shout  after  shout  went  up,  in  continued  and 
prolonged  cheers;  while  the  bands  played  now  a 
triumphant  welcome,  now  a  reminiscence  of  la  belle 
France.  At  all  the  windows  fair  hands  waved  the 
silent  welcome  j  which  seemed  the  more  delightfully 


192  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

eloquent,  from  its  gentle  contrast  to  the  no  less 
sincere,  though  noisy  and  hilarious  shouts  of  the 
citizens. 

After  the  mayor  of  the  city  had  spoken  his  wel- 
come, in  behalf  of  the  municipahty  and  the  nation,  to 
which  Lafayette  feehngly  and  gratefully  responded, 
and  many  citizens  and  strangers  were  introduced, 
including  not  a  few  old  friends  in  the  "  times  that 
tried  men's  souls,"  Lafayette  received  the  parting 
salute  of  the  military,  and  was  escorted  to  the  City 
Hotel,  where  apartments  had  been  prepared  for  him. 
Thus  closed  a  day,  which,  so  far  as  any  earthly 
triumph  can,  compensated  him  for  his  labours  in 
behalf  of  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  for  a  long  life 
passed  in  its  consistent  support. 

The  landing  of  Lafayette  at  New  York  took 
place  on  Monday,  and  on  that  and  the  three  follow- 
ing days  the  city  was  alive  with .  testimonies  of 
respect  to  him.  The  Common  Council  caused  the 
freedom  of  the  city  to  be  presented  him  in  a  golden 
box.  Trades,  societies  of  all  kinds,  the  professions, 
associations,  private  individuals,  and  public  authori- 
ties, vied  with  each  other  in  doing  him  honour.  His 
portrait,  presented  by  Capt.  Allyn  of  the  Cadmus, 
was  placed  in  the  City  Hall ;  and  men  of  all  parties, 
sects,  and  conditions,  rejoiced  that  they  had  found 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  193 

a  common  sentiment,  in  wliich  all  Americans  could 
heartily  unite. 

On  Friday,  the  20th, -he  left  New  York  for  Boston, 
via  Connecticut,  in  a  carriage  provided  by  the  cor- 
poration of  the  city.  He  was  also  attended  by  a 
committee  of  the  Common  Council,  appointed  to  ac- 
company him.  The  military  escort  from  one  town 
attended  him,  until  met  by  the  soldiers  deputed  on 
behalf  of  other  towns  to  receive  him.  The  whole 
journey  was  a  continued  triumphal  progress.  Every- 
where he  met  "hands  with  hearts  in  them."  The 
old  claimed  his  remembrance,  and  the  young  lisped 
his  praise.  Every  class  of  tlie  population  joined  in 
the  welcome.  His  way  may  literally  be  said  to  have 
been  upon  flowers ;  and  his  progress  was  crowded 
with  incidents,  agreeable  surprises,  and  unexpected 
recognitions.  He  was  welcomed  at  New  Haven  by 
the  Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  at  Providence  by 
the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island ;  and  at  these  and 
other  principal  towns  was  received  with  the  more 
imposing  testimonies  of  high  respect,  which  the 
facilities  of  those  places  afforded,  and  patriotism 
dictated ;  while  into  no  town,  however  small,  could 
he  enter,  without  finding  the  descendants  of  the  men 
of  '76,  ready  to  cheer  and  welcome  him  The 
anecdotes  of  his  meetings  with  old  soldiers,  and  his 


194  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

recognitions,  would  of  themselves  suffice  to  fill  a 
volume  larger  than  this. 

Lafayette  was  met  on  the  Massachusetts  line  by 
the  aids  of  the  governor  of  that  State,  and  his  pro- 
gress to  Boston  was  no  less  imposing  than  the  route 
through  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island.  By  day  he 
found  all  other  business  deferred  to  the  happy  duty 
of  welcoming  him  ;  and  by  night,  bonfires,  illumina- 
tions, and  rockets,  announced  his  progress.  From 
the  mansion  of  Gov.  Eustis,  in  Roxbury,  he  was 
attended  by  a  numerous  cavalcade  to  the  city  line, 
v/here  a  truly  imposing  procession  awaited  him,  and 
the  assembled  citizens  greeted  him  with  prolonged 
acclamations.  Here  he  was  welcomed  by  the 
mayor,  in  behalf  of  the  city.  The  procession  then 
passed  through  several  of  the  principal  streets, 
everywhere  lined  with  spectators,  and  frequently 
arched,  to  the  Common.  The  entrance  to  this  public 
ground  was  made  between  two  lines  of  the  children 
of  the  public  schools — the  girls  in  white,  and  the 
boys  in  white  trowsers  and  blue  jackets,  and  all 
wearing  badges.  The  number  of  these  young  wel- 
comers  was  about  three  thousand  ;  and  the  occasion 
was  made  more  interesting  by  the  springing  forward 
of  a  little  girl,  who,  on  her  request  to  speak  to  La- 
fayette, was  handed  into  his  carriage,  and  presented 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  195 

him  with  a  wreath  of  flowers,  and  a  simple  but 
touching  poetic  tribute. 

The  governor  and  council  received  the  nation's 
guest  at  the  State-House,  and  welcomed  him  in  be- 
half of  the  State.  He  was  also  waited  on  by  the 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  other  associations. 
On  the  next  day  Lafayette  attended  the  commence- 
ment exercises  of  Harvard  University,  giving  evi- 
dence there,  in  his  unpremeditated  classical  quota- 
tions and  allusions,  that  he  v.as  no  less  a  scholar 
than  warrior  and  statesman. 

After  some  days  spent  in  Boston  and  its  imme- 
diate vicinity,  in  a  perpetual  series  of  ascriptions 
of  honour  on  the  one  hand,  and  gratified  acknow- 
ledgement on  the  other,  Lafayette  proceeded  as  far 
east  as  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  Everywhere 
the  same  scenes  awaited  him ;  the  heartfelt  tribute 
of  all  ages  and  conditions — the  greatest  exercise  of 
patriotic  ingenuity  in  arranging  devices  and  sur- 
prises— and  frequent  recognitions  of  old  friends,  and 
presentation  of  old  soldiers,  who  talked  with  him 
"their  battles  o'er  again."  In  Salem,  which  he 
took  on  his  way  to  Portsmouth,  the  orator  and  pre- 
sident of  the  day  was  Judge  Story,  and  the  recep- 
tion was  the  occasion  of  many  delightful  incidents. 

From   Portsmouth   he   returned  to  Boston,  and 


196  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

thence,  through  the  interior  of  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut,  to  New  York.  The  old  battle-grounds 
of  Concord,  and  Lexington,  and  other  famous  places, 
were  visited.  In  Connecticut  he  was  more  formally 
received  than  was  possible  on  his  first  hurried  pas- 
sage through  J  and  at  New  York  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  people  appeared  unabated.  The  closing  fete 
was  a  ball  at  Castle  Garden,  unexcelled  in  the  inge- 
nuity and  happy  neatness  of  its  arrangements. 
After  a  hurried  but  delightful  visit  to  the  towns  and 
cities  upon  the  Hudson,  Lafayette  proceeded  through 
New  Jersey,  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  Through 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  the  same  triumphal  pro- 
gress was  made  as  in  other  places.  The  descend- 
ants of  those  who  lived  upon  the  battle-ground  of 
the  Revolution,  led  by  the  survivors  of  the  glorious 
bands  of  worthies  in  that  State,  crowded  forward 
to  do  him  honour.  At  Trenton  and  Princeton  the 
proceedings  were  truly  imposing ;  and  one  notice- 
able incident  in  this  State  was,  the  passage  of  several 
hours  with  Joseph  Bonaparte. 

The  governor  of  New  Jersey  had  the  pleasure 
of  presenting  to  him  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania; 
and  on  Monday,  the  28th  of  September,  the  nation's 
guest  entered  the  Keystone  State,  resting  for  the 
nifht  at  Frankford.     To  this  place,  distant  about 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  197 

five  miles  from  Philadelphia,  it  seemed  as  if  the 
whole  population  of  the  city  had  repaired  to  meet 
him ;  and  yet,  as  he  approached,  the  crowd  grev/ 
more  and  more  dense.  The  progress  from  Frank- 
ford  to  the  State-House  occupied  over  six  hours. 
The  head  of  the  procession  was  composed  of  a 
cavalcade  of  citizens,  after  which  came  between 
two  and  three  thousand  infantry  and  cavalry,  the 
whole  number  of  soldiers  in  the  procession  being 
between  five  and  six  thousand.  Then  followed  La- 
fayette in  an  open  barouche,  splendidly  adorned  and 
appointed,  and  followed  by  other  carriages,  in  which 
rode  the  committees,  public  officers,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  veterans  of  the  Revolution.  After 
these  came  the  trades  and  other  associations.  This 
was  a  most  imposing  part  of  the  pageant — the  dif- 
ferent artificers,  led  by  the  printers,  at  work  upon 
an  ode  which  they  distributed,  being  engaged  in 
their  different  avocations.  The  procession  exceeded 
three  miles  in  length,  and  every  step  of  its  progress 
w^as  through  a  dense  crowd  of  people,  whose  faces, 
radiant  with  joy  and  welcome,  made  the  spectators 
not  the  least  delightful  part  of  the  pageant.  The 
doors,  windows,  and  balconies  were  all  alive  with 
graceful  forms  and  happy  faces ;  the  decrepit  with 
age,  and  the  babe  in  arms,  all  estates  and  conditions 


198  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

acknowledged  their  common  interest  in  the  welcome 
to  the  friend  of  his  race,  the  benefactor  of  America, 
the  adopted  son  of  Washington. 

When  at  length  the  guest  reached  the  old  State- 
House,  he  passed  under  a  magnificent  arch  into  the 
Hall  of  Independence,  where,  amid  patriotic  ob- 
jects and  decorations,  the  officers  and  citizens  de- 
puted to  welcome  him  were  assembled.  After  the 
formalities  of  reception,  Lafayette  was  escorted  to 
his  quarters  at  the  Mansion-House.  The  city  was 
brilhantly  illuminated  in  the  evening;  and  magnifi- 
cent transparencies  took  the  place  of  the  various 
objects  which  had  attracted,  during  the  day,  the 
admiring  gaze  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  who 
kept  holiday.  The  arches  thrown  across  the  streets 
at  various  points  were  very  numerous,  and  in  inge- 
nuity of  construction,  and  tastefulness  of  design, 
were  truly  unique  and  appropriate.  The  pencil  of 
a  Sully,  the  chisel  of  a  Rush,  and  the  designs  of 
a  Strickland  could  not  produce  other  than  beautiful 
and  memorable  effects ;  and  as  the  soul  of  patriotism 
animated  the  whole  people,  everybody  contributed  a 
share,  direct  or  indirect,  to  this  most  magnificent 
pageant. 

Some  days  were  spent  in  meeting  old  friends,  and 
partaking  of  private  hospitality,  and  receiving  public 


^"T  fill  I 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  199 

honours,  not  the  least  gratifying  of  which  was,  the 
tribute  of  two  thousand  children  in  Washington 
Square.  A  grand  civic  ball,  given  at  the  Chesnut 
Street  Theatre,  was  magnificent  in  all  its  appoint- 
ments, and  was  less  a  ball  than  a  splendid  reception. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  having  exchanged  courte- 
sies with  as  many  of  the  Philadelphians  as  the  time 
would  admit,  Lafayette,  highly  gratified  with  the 
visit  to  a  city,  which  had  made  his  stay  one  con- 
tinued fete,  departed  for  Baltimore.  Of  his  passage 
through  Delaware  we  can  only  say,  that  it  was  like 
his  movements  in  every  other  direction,  a  triumphal 
progress.  At  Baltimore,  he  was  upon  landing  con- 
ducted to  the  Tent  of  Washington,  where,  after  an 
address  from  the  governor  of  the  State,  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  among 
whom  was  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  Lafayette, 
unapprised  of  the  dehcate  compliment  conveyed  in 
the  selection  of  the  tent,  still  seemed  to  divine  that 
there  was  some  hidden  meaning.  When  at  last  he 
recognised  a  portion  of  Washington's  camp  equip- 
age, and  said  in  a  voice  husky  with  emotion — "  I 
remember  !"  the  burst  of  feeling  was  instantaneous 
with  all  present.    It  was  a  most  impressive  moment. 

The  other  circumstances  of  reception  in  Balti- 
more were  like  those  we  have  already  described : 


200  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

and  the  Monumental  City  acquitted  herself  as 
worthily  as  her  sisters.  In  the  District  of  Columbia 
he  was  no  less  heartily  welcomed  than  elsewhere, 
and  with  the  same  ingenuity  of  patriotic  devices. 
The  President,  Mr.  Madison,  with  the  Cabinet,  and 
other  high  officers  of  the  government,  gave  him  an 
affectionate  welcome,  as  became  the  representatives 
of  the  nation.  Visiting  the  Tomb  of  Washington, 
he  was  there  presented  with  a  ring,  containing  a 
portion  of  the  hair  of  his  departed  friend,  and  with 
other  memorials  of  the  Father  of  his  Country ;  and 
Mr.  Custis,  in  presenting  them,  made  a  most  appro- 
priate address. 

The  next  remarkable  and  most  imposing  cere- 
monies took  place  upon  the  battle-ground  of  York- 
town.  The  field  was  converted  into  a  camp ;  and 
among  the  tents  were  that  of  Washington,  and  many 
others  which  saw  service  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
A  triumphal  arch,  bearing  the  names  of  Lafayette, 
Hamilton,  and  Laurens,  was  erected  on  the  spot 
where  once  stood  the  redoubt  stormed  by  Lafayette ; 
and  on  the  spot  where  stood  that  carried  by  the 
French,  an  obelisk  was  erected  bearing  the  names 
of  illustrious  Frenchmen.  On  this  classic  field  no 
pageantry  was  attempted.  As  was  happily  remarked 
by  Gen.  Taylor,  who  made  the  address,  the  associa- 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  201 

tions  of  such  a  scene  admitted  no  attempt  at  em- 
bellishment. On  the  very  ppot  where  the  redoubt 
was  stormed,  Gen.  Taylor  was  prepared,  at  the  close 
of  his  address,  to  place  a  blended  civic  and  martial 
wreath;  but  the  considerate  veteran,  while  he  grace- 
fully acknowledged  the  high  compliment,  as  grace- 
fully averted  its  consummation ;  and,  taking  the 
expressive  coronal  in  his  hand — a  prouder  than  any 
diamond  circlet,  called  forward  Col.  Fish,  the  only 
other  survivor  of  the  attack  upon  the  redoubt,  and 
insisted  that  half  the  honour  belonged  to  him. 
Thus,  as  indeed  on  all  occasions,  did  the  self-pos- 
sessed and  modest  veteran  gracefully  support  hom- 
age which  would  have  crushed  any  ordinary  man ; 
and  through  the  whole  of  his  happy  but  trying  pro- 
gress through  the  United  States,  he  manifested  a 
self-command  which  left  his  character  as  high  in 
the  respect  of  a  nation  as  before  he  arrived. 

The  illustrious  men  of  the  "  Old  Dominion"  vied 
with  each  other  in  honour  and  hospitality  to  the 
man  who  so  gallantly  defended  their  soil.  After  a 
week  delightfully  spent  with  Jefferson,  and  a  visit 
to  Mr.  Madison  at  his  seat,  Lafayette  was  called  to 
"Washington,  to  meet  the  successors  in  Congress  of 
those  who  welcomed  and  honoured  him  forty  years 
before.     The  Congress  of  1824  paid  him  no  less 


202  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE. 

respect  than  did  the  Congress  of  1784.  He  was 
introduced  to  the  House  and  Senate  in  joint  session, 
by  a  committee  of  twenty-four  members,  on  the  10th 
of  December ;  and  the  address  of  the  Speaker,  and 
reply  of  Lafayette,  eloquently  contrasted  the  condi- 
tion of  the  country  at  the  two  epochs  marked  by 
Lafayette's  visits.  He  had  previously  been  received 
by  the  Senate,  the  members  rising  as  he  entered ; 
and  it  is  a  fact  not  to  be  forgotten,  that  Lafayette 
was  the  only  stranger  who  ever  received  this  honour 
from  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  On  Monday, 
December  21st,  a  bill  passed  the  Senate,  granting 
Lafayette  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  a  town- 
ship of  land,  for  his  services  in  the  Revolution ;  and 
on  the  next  day  the  bill  passed  the  House. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1825,  Lafayette  left  Wash- 
ington on  his  southern  and  western  tour.  He  trav- 
elled from  Washington  to  Charleston,  and  thence  to 
New  Orleans  over  land — to  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati, 
Pittsburg,  Buffalo,  and  Albany,  to  Boston,  M'hich 
city  he  reached  on  the  16th  of  June.  Through  the 
whole  of  the  long  route  of  four  thousand  miles,  he 
met  the  same  cordial  reception  that  we  have  de- 
scribed in  other  places.  That  we  have  not  space 
to  notice  these  honours  more  particularly,  is  of  it- 
self a  high  compliment  to  the  recipient;   for  the 


LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE.  203 

deeds  by  which  he  merited  them  pre-occupied  our 
space. 

On  the  17th  of  June,  Lafayette  was  present  at 
the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  o(  Bunker  Hill  Momi- 
ment.  Of  itself  a  most  sublimely  interesting  cere- 
mony, its  interest  was  thus  enhanced  by  the  pre- 
sence of  Lafayette,  the  last  surviving  major-general 
of  the  Revolution.  The  oration  of  Webster,  which 
has  taken  its  rank  among  American  classics,  is  an 
echo  of  the  sentiments  of  the  whole  nation  upon 
this  day,  which  will  not  cease  to  repeat  itself  while 
a  pulse  beats  on  the  free  soil  of  the  United  States. 


204  LIFE     OF     LAFAYETTE, 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Lafayette's  Departure  from  America — Reception  in  France — Revolution 
of  July,  1830,  and  Overthrow  "of  the  Government  of  Charles  X.— 
Lafayette  appointed  to  the  Command  of  the  National  Guard — Louis 
Philippe  elected  King  of  the  French — Death  of  Lafayette — Funeral 
Ceremonies  in  Paris — Respect  to  his  Memory  in  the  United  States. 

AFAYETTE'S  life  would  have  been 
complete,  his  character  established, 
and  his  mission  finished,  with  the 
close  of  his  visit  to  the  United  States. 
He  was  now  well  advanced  in  years, 
and  his  long  life  presented  events  enough  to 
have  furnished  fame  for  many;  but  to  the 
very  close  of  his  days  he  was  destined  to 
trials  of  his  patriotism  and  his  consistency ; 
and  the  evening  of  his  life,  hke  a  glorious  sunset, 
was  brilHant  in  the  virtues  which  had  marked  his 
whole  career. 

After  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  Bunker 
Hill  Monument,  he  spent  several  months  in  visits  to 
various  interesting  points,  as  Brandywine,  and  the 
battle-fields  in  Virginia,  and  in  the  exchange  of 
courtesies  with  the  personal  friends  of  the  old  time 


L  I  F  K     OF      LAFAYETTE.  205 

and  the  new.  He  was  accompanied  to  Virginia  by 
Mr.  Monroe,  then  President,  in  a  visit  to  the  two 
ex-Presidents,  Jefferson  and  Madison.  Returning 
to  Washington  on  the  8th  of  September,  1825,  the 
President,  in  the  name  of  the  nation,  took  leave  of 
him  in  an  impressive  and  deeply  affecting  address; 
and  he  embarked  on  board  the  steamer  which  was 
to  convey  him  to  the  Brandy  wine  frigate,  which  was 
waiting  for  him  in  the  Chesapeake.  As  the  steamer 
passed  down,  Lafayette  and  his  escort  being  at 
dinner,  it  was  noticed  that  the  band  had  changed  its 
enlivening  music  for  the  plaintive  strains  of  Pleyell's 
Hymn.  It  was  announced  —  "We  are  opposite 
Mount  Vernon."  Lafayette  left  the  table,  and  as- 
cending to  the  deck,  looked  in  meditative  silence 
toward  the  spot  where  the  remains  of  Washington 
rest,  until  the  deepening  shadows  of  twilight,  and 
the  distance  of  the  boat,  closed  the  scene  from  his 
view,  and  then  in  silence  he  descended  again  to  the 
cabin.  Nobody  presumed  to  disturb  a  reverie  so 
sacred  with  a  single  sound. 

The  Brandywine,  upon  his  embarkation  on  the 
9th,  immediately  made  sail  for  France.  This  frigate, 
which  was  upon  the  stocks  when  Lafayette  arrived 
in  the  country,  was  finished  and  named,  with  a  view 
to  the  honourable  service  of  conveying  home  the 


206  LIFE     OFL  A  FAYETTE. 

nation's  guest.  He  arrived  at  Havre  on  the  4th  of 
October.  Upon  landing  he  was  received  with  an 
enthusiastic  welcome  by  the  people  of  his  country, 
while  the  despotic  government  of  Charles  X.,  by 
continual  interruptions  and  assaults  upon  the  people, 
who  made  his  journey  from  Havre  to  La  Grange  a 
triumphal  progress,  failed  not  to  mark  its  fear  of 
popular  liberty.  Lafayette  was  even  threatened 
with  arrest ;  as  if  he  were  responsible  for  the  honour 
which  the  nation  was  resolved  to  show  their  coun- 
tryman, who  had  been  received  with  so  much 
honour  abroad. 

In  a  few  years  Charles  X.  completed  the  ruin  of 
himself,  to  which  all  his  acts  had  tended.  The  Re- 
volution of  the  Three  Days  of  July,  1830,  expelled 
the  antiquated  dynasty  of  the  Bourbons.  To  La- 
fayette, as  in  many  former  hours  of  danger,  the 
nation  looked ;  and  on  the  29th  he  was  called,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-three,  to  the  command  of  the 
National  Guard.  They  had  resumed  their  old  uni- 
form, and  with  it  the  best  spirit  of  the  old  revolu- 
tion, before  the  degeneracy  into  violence  and  blood. 
In  the  camp,  in  the  details  of  the  police,  and  in  the 
legislative  council,  Lafayette's  wisdom  and  courage 
aided  to  carry  the  nation  through  a  revolution  with- 
out anarchy.     He  approved  of  the  nomination  of 


LIFE     OF      LAFAYETTE.  207 

Louis  Philippe,  first  as  Lieutenant-General,  and  then 
as  King  of  the  French,  as  the  best  possible  step 
which  could  be  taken  under  the  circumstances — the 
best  guarantee  against  the  recurrence  of  civil  war. 
His  influence,  as  representative  of  the  nation,  con- 
summated the  work  of  the  deputies  in  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  King  of  the  French ;  and  thus,  in  the 
last  days  of  his  life,  he  showed  the  same  disinte- 
restedness which  had  marked  his  whole  career ;  the 
same  contempt  of  self  and  love  of  country.  After 
all  danger  of  anarchy  was  over,  he  resigned  his 
command  in  the  National  Guards,  and  retired  to  La 
Grange ;  appearing  in  public  life  only  in  hi-s  capacity 
of  legislator,  which  he  kept  until  his  death. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  1834,  the  intelligence  of  his 
death  was  received  in  this  country.  The  President 
of  the  United  States  issued  general  orders,  as  the 
head  of  the  army  and  navy,  directing  the  same  tes- 
timonies of  respect  to  be  paid  as  were  observed  at 
the  death  of  Washington.  On  the  24th,  Congress 
adopted  a  series  of  resolutions,  expressive  of  honour 
to  the  dead,  and  condolence  to  the  living  friends; 
and  at  the  session  of  1824-5,  an  eloquent  eulogy 
was  pronounced  by  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams.  In 
all  the  principal  cities  in  the  country,  eulogies  were 
pronounced,   and    funeral   processions   took   place. 


208  LIFE     OP     LAFAYETTE. 

The  children,  who,  ten  years  before,  assisted  in  the 
fetes  at  his  reception,  in  1834  aided,  as  men  and 
women,  in  the  solemniti'es  of  his  funeral  honours. 

Lafayette  died  at  his  hotel  in  Paris,  on  the  21st 
of  May,  1834,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  On  the 
18th  he  had  followed  on  foot  the  remains  of  the 
patriot  Dulong  to  Pere  le  Chaise,  and,  in  consequence 
of  the  exposure  took  a  cold,  which  in  less  than  a 
week  thereafter  led  another  mournful  pageant  to  the 
Garden  of  Tombs.  A  moment  before  his  death  the 
attendants  were  putting  a  blister  upon  his  breast. 
"  It  is  of  no  use,"  he  said,  and  falling  back  into  the 
arms  of  his  son  George  Washington,  breathed  his 
last. 

The  funeral  was  a  mournful  pageant,  in  which  all 
the  people  of  Paris  participated.  No  oration  was 
spoken,  no  formal  eulogy  was  attempted;  for  the 
aspect  of  the  city,  and  the  faces  of  the  people  were 
more  eloquent  than  words.  Thus  was  a  man  be- 
loved in  death — thus  was  he  honoured,  who  always 
dared  the  right,  whether  for  the  moment  it  pleased 
or  displeased.  If  he  forfeited  popularity  for  an  hour, 
his  constant  adherence  to  principles  has  made  his 
good  name  immortal. 

THE    END. 


-\?^- 


LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTOX'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


A  BOOH  FOB.  SVERIZ'  CHRXSTI AZ^. 


THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


MEMOIR  OF  MISS  MARGARET  MERCER. 

BY  CASPAR  MORRIS,  M.D. 

A  neat  18mo.  volume,  with  a  beautiful  Engraved 

Portrait  of  Miss  Mercer, 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

"Miss  Mercer  was  a  daughter  of  the  late  Governor  Mercer  of  Maryland. 
Her  father,  who  was  a  Virginian,  and  the  descendant  of  a  distinguished 
family,  removed  to  Strawberry  Hill,  near  Annapolis,  Md.,  soon  after  his  mar- 
riage. In  the  memoir  of  the  daughter,  we  have  the  moral  portraiture  of  a 
character  of  great  moral  worth.  Miss  Mercer  was  a  Christian,  who  earnestly 
Bought  to  promote  the  glory  of  the  Saviour,  in  persevering  efforts  to  be  use- 
ful in  every  position,  and  especially  as  a  teacher  of  the  young.  Her  energy 
of  mind  and  elevated  principles,  united  with  humility  and  gentleness  and 
devoted  piety,  illustrated  in  her  useful  life,  rendered  her  example  worthy  of 
a  lasting  memorial.  The  work  is  accompanied  hy  numerous  extracts  from 
her  correspondence." — Christian  Observer. 

"The  perusal  of  this  Memoir  will  do  good ;  it  shows  how  much  can  he  ac- 
complished by  superior  talents,  under  the  control  of  a  heart  imbued  with 
love  to  the  Saviour.  The  contemplation  of  the  character  of  Miss  Mercer  may 
lead  others  to  put  forth  similar  efforts,  and  reap  a  like  reward." — Christian 
Chronicle. 

"It  is  impossible  to  read  this  Memoir  without  the  conviction  that  MiM 
Mercer  was  a  very  superior  woman,  both  in  her  attainments  and  her  entire 
self  consecration.  In  laying  down  the  book,  we  feel  alike  admiration  for  the 
biographer  and  the  subject  of  the  Memoir." — Presbyterian. 


LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTON 

PUBLISH 

THE  ROSEMAKY, 

A  COLLECTION  OF 

Sacxti  anir  lieligioitB  Ipoetrg, 

FROM  THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN  POETS; 

WITH  EIGHT  SPLENDID  ILLUSTRATIONS  ON  STEEL 

By  Sartaiiit 

LIST  OF  EMBELLISHMENTS. 

M0SE3  SinilNa  THE  EOCK MUKILLO. 

HEBRON BRACEBRIDSS. 

DANIEL  IN  THE  lIONs'  DEN ZEIGLER. 

ELIJAH  FED  BT  RAVENS CORBOULD. 

ABRAHA5I  OFFERING  UP  ISAAC -WESIALL. 

god's  COVENANT  WITH  NOAH  ...  ...  EOTHERMBL, 

JOSEPH  SOLD  ET  HIS  BRETHREN  .  .  ....  ZUCOHI. 

THE  WOMEN  AT  THE  SEPULCHRE     ...  ...  P.  VIET. 

d^itmtt  frnm  ^t  ^nhit 

"  In  presenting  in  '  The  Rosemary'  some  of  the  choice  selections  of  Sacred 
Poetry  in  an  attractive  garb,  it  is  hoped  that  it  Tvill  be  received  as  an  evi- 
dence of  that  religious  feeling,  which  at  times  has  actuated  most  of  the  great 
poets,  and  been  displayed  in  some  of  their  finest  productions." 

OPINIONS   OF  THE  PRESS. 

"  This  book  is  a  beautiful  pearl,  rich  in  the  treasures  of  thought  and  ima- 
gination, which  form  its  contents,  as  well  as  in  the  elegance  of  its  costume, 
and  the  delicate  and  finished  engravings  which  embellish  it." — Christian  Ob- 
server. 

"  In  this  attractive  volume  we  find  much  to  please  the  eye  •,  but  the  most 
Taluable  recommendation  of  the  work  is  found  in  the  lessons  of  piety,  virtue, 
morality,  and  mercy,  which  are  thrown  together  in  this  many-coloured  gar- 
land of  poetic  flowers." — Episcopal  Recorder. 

"  The  volume  before  ng  commends  itself  to  every  one  who  with  a  gift  would 
connect  the  highest  sentiment  of  purity — for  it  is  a  casket  of  spiritual  gems 
—radiant  with  the  light  of  true  religion."— CAnsfiari  Oem. 

"This  collection  is  made  with  great  taste,  and  is,  perhaps,  the  finest  ever 
comprised  within  the  limits  of  one  volume." — Oodey'ii  Lady's  Book. 
2 


LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTON  PUBLISH 

WATSON'S 

DICTIONARY  OF  POETICAL  QUOTATIONS, 

CONSISTING    OF 

ELEGANT  EXTRACTS  ON  EVERY  SUBJECT, 

COMPILED  FROM  VARIOUS  AUTHORS,  AND  ARRANGED  UNDIE 
APPROPRIATE  HEADS, 

BY  JOHN  T.  WATSON  M.D., 
WITH  NINE  SPLENDID  ILLUSTRATIONS  ON  STEEL, 


INCLUDING 


The  Noontide  Dream, 

Contemplation, 

Modesty, 

The  Thunder  Storm, 


The  A'illage  Tomb-Cutter, 
The  Parting  Wreath, 
Bereavement, 
The  Bashful  Lover, 


Love  and  Innocence. 


OPIITIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

"  We  may  safely  recommend  this  hook  as  a  collection  of  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  conceptions,  elegantly  expressed,  to  bo  found  in  the  range  of  Eng- 
lish and  American  poetry." — Saturday  Courier. 

"  We  regard  this  as  the  best  book  of  a  similar  character  yet  published." — 
Germanlown  Telegraph. 

"In  this  Dictionary  of  Quotations  every  subject  is  touched  upon;  and, 
•while  the  selection  has  been  carefully  made,  it  has  the  merit  of  containing 
the  best  thoughts  of  the  Poets  of  our  own  day,  which  no  other  collection 
has."— K  S.  Gazette. 

"The  selections  in  this  book  are  made  with  taste  from  all  poets  of  note, 
and  are  classed  under  a  great  variety  of  subjects." — Presbyteriau. 

"The  Quotations  appear  to  have  been  selected  with  great  judgment  and 
taste,  by  one  well  acquainted  with  whatever  is  most  elegant  and  beautiful 
in  the  whole  range  of  literature." — Christian  Observer. 

"  A  volume  exhibiting  industry  and  taste  on  the  part  of  the  compiler, 
which  will  often  facilitate  researches  in  the  mines  of  gold  whence  it  was 
dug." — MaysviUe  Eagle. 

"  In  his  arrangement,  the  compiler  has  assigned  the  immortal  Shakspeare 
his  deserved  pre-eminence,  and  illumined  his  pages  with  the  choicest  beau- 
ties of  the  British  Poets."— /y^-ruW. 

"We  do  not  hesitate  to  commend  it  to  our  poetry-loving  readers,  as  a  book 
worth  buying,  and  worth  reading." — Clinton  Republican. 

"  The  extracts  display  great  care  and  taste  on  the  part  of  the  editor,  are  ar- 
ranged in  chronological  order,  and  embrace  passages  from  all  the  poets,  from 
the  earliest  period  of  our  literature  to  the  present  time."— ^tafe  Gazette, 

8 


LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTON 

PUBLISH 

MY  LITTLE  GEOGRAPHY, 

PRIMARY  SCHOOLS  AND  FOR  BEGINNERS. 

•WITH  NUMEKOUS  ILLI76TRATIONS. 
EDITED   BY   MRS.    L.    C.    TUTHILL. 

KECOMMENDATIONS. 
From  Mrs.  E.  W.  Phelps,  Principal  of  Female  Seminary,  Shephcrdstown,  Va. 
Messrs.  Lindsay  <£  Blakiston : — "  My  Little  Geography"  is  the  favourite  vo- 
lume of  my  younger  pupils,  who  have  heen  charmed  with  the  chapters  they 
have  studied,  and  delighted  at  finding  they  could  commit  the  sprightly  httle 
verses  to  memory.  Such  an  elementary  treatise  was  quite  a  desideratum, 
and  I  am  pleased  that  the  idea  suggested  itself  to  a  person  capable  of  carrying 
it  out,  in  a  style  so  peculiarly  apapted  to  instruct  and  interest  the  young. 
Very  respectfully,  yours,  E.  VV.  PHELPS." 

From  J.  E.  Lovell,  Principal  of  the  Lancasterian  School,  JVew  Haven,  Conn. 
"I  have  examined  a  little  work,  by  Mrs.  L.  C.  Tuthill,  entitled  'My  Little 
Geography.'  It  is  by  no  means  an  easy  task  to  write  well  for  young  children, 
hut  this  performance  is,  I  think,  highly  successful.  Its  language  is  simple 
and  chaste ;  its  sentences  concise,  and  its  topics  so  treated  that  the  youngest 
pupil  will  easily  understand  them.  Several  books  for  beginners  in  Geogra- 
phy— excellent  in  most  respects — have  been  published  within  a  few  years; 
but  they  are,  without  an  exception,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  too  com- 
prehensive, and  above  the  capacities  of  those  for  whose  particular  use  they 
were  intended.  Mrs.  Tuthill's  little  work  may  be  used  as  introductory  to 
either  of  them,  with  great  advantage ;  it  will  do  its  own  part  well,  and  open 
the  way  for  the  better  accomplishment  of  that  which  belongs  to  its  successors. 
I  hope  it  may  have  an  extensive  circulation.  J.  B.  LOVELL." 

OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

This  is  the  title  of  a  captivating  little  book  for  children,  by  which  they  are 
led,  almost  insensibly,  into  a  knowledge  of  geographical  terms.— Cojji.  Adv. 

Than  this  unpretending  little  work  we  have  never  seen  a  more  useful  or 
appropriate  school-hook,  or  one  more  admirably  calculated  for  beginners  in 
geography ;  we  can  recommend  it,  without  fear  of  responsibility,  to  our  semi- 
naries, as  well  deserving  a  trial. — Southern  Patriot, 

We  welcome,  with  particular  pleasure,  this  little  work;  the  author  has 
succeeded  admirably  in  producing  a  book  which  must  prove  a  valuable  auxi- 
liary to  parents  and  teachers,  as  well  as  a,  delightful  and  instructive  com- 
panion for  children. — Saturday  Courier. 

This  is  an  attractive,  we  must  add,  entertaining  hook  ;  as  a  first  Geography 
for  children,  it  is  admirably  suited  to  their  capacities,  and  its  embellishmenU 
cannot  fail  to  interest  them. —  Christian  Observer. 

This  is  a  most  admirable  work  for  young  beginners  in  Geography;  it  skoBid 
k«  introducai  into  families  and  s(ihoo\s.— Intelligencer  and  Journal. 
4 


AX  d;terlstl\g  biograi'hy  for  yomg  people. 

LINDSAY   &    BLAKISTON 

PUBLISH 

A  MEMOIR  OF 
ELLEN  MAY  WOODWARD, 

BY  THE  REV,  GEO,  D.  MILES,  A.  M. 

RECTOR   OF   ST.    STEPHEN'S    CHUKCH,    'n'lLKESBARRB. 

JHFftl)  a  iJortvait. 

A    NEAT    18M0.    VOLUME. 


PUBLISHERS'  NOTICE. 

Miss  Ellen  May  Woodward,  the  subject  of  this  Memoir,  was  the  eldest 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  George  W.  Woodward,  of  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia, who  was  drowned  on  Saturday,  the  19th  of  January,  1850.  The  peculiar 
position  of  Miss  Woodward,  as  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Clirist,  at  so  early 
an  age,  and  the  manifestations  of  deep  piety  which  marked  her,  will  account 
for  the  appearance  of  this  little  volume.  SHie  was  one  of  Christ's  lambs, 
committed  to  the  care  of  the  pastor  of  the  flock,  and  her  story  is  told  to  lead 
others  into  the  same  fold. 

"  The  touching  story  of  her  life  furnishes  a  beautiful  picture  of  the  gradual 
growth  of  the  religious  feeling  which  distinguished  her,  as  well  as  of  the 
other  traits  which  made  her  the  idolized  centre  of  the  circle  where  she  was 
known.  We  commend  the  volume  as  an  admirable  one  for  yoiith,  and  etpe- 
cially  adapted  to  Sunday  Schools." — Evening  Bulletin. 

"  A  charming  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  child  whose  e.xcellence  of  charac- 
ter well  merits  the  distinction.  Ellen  was  a  little  over  thirteen  years  of  age  at 
the  period  of  her  death,  but  had  evinced  a  deep  religious  sentiment,  a  piety  bo 
•jccoiiiing  and  beautiful,  as  to  lead  to  the  publication  by  her  r«ligioui 
inslinctor  of  the  little  volume  now  before  us." — American  Courier. 


LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTON 

PUBLISH    THE 

BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'  MISCELLANY, 

CONSISTING    OF 

ORIGINAL  STORIES,  POETRY,  BIOGRAPHY,  ANECDOTES, 

ALL    ADAPTED     TO 

THE  COMPREHENSION  OF  CHILDREN, 

AND  PREPAUED  BOTH  WITH  A  VIEW  TO  THEIR  AMUSEMENT  AND  INSTRUCTION, 
■WITH  OVER  FIFTY 

BEAUTIFULLT  ESECUTED  ILLUSTEATIONS. 


OPINIONS  OP  THE  PHESS. 

"This  is  a  very  attractive  work  for  young  people,  and  can  scarcely  fail  of 
becoming  a  favourite." — National  Standard. 

"  The  matter  is  appropriate,  various,  and  pleasing — the  wood-cuts  good, 
aud  the  coloured  title  very  tasteful."— Pres6y<eWan. 

"We  cheerfully  recommend  this  work  to  our  juvenile  readers." — See. 

"  This  work  contains  much  that  is  entertaining  to  children — wholesome 
and  pleasing  moral  talcs,  short  anecdotes,  conveying  useful  truths,  and 
poetry  which  children  will  not  soon  forget ;  it  may  he  confidently  recom- 
mended to  parents." — Trenton  Gazette. 

"  This  work  cannot  fail  to  improve  the  minds  of  young  people,  and  fit 
them  for  the  important  position  that  they  are  hereafter  to  occupy." — Chria- 
Han  Repository. 

"  Its  design  is  good,  and  its  execution  commendahle,  and  evinces  on  ths 
part  of  the  editor  hoth  taste  and  tact." — Spirit  of  the  Times. 

"  We  can  cheerfully  recommend  this  work  as  an  excellent  publication  tax 
f  oath."-  'Recorder. 


LINDSAY  &  BLAKISTON 

.   HAVE  RECENTLY  PUBLISHED, 

ScmcB  in  tlje  £\k  of  tl)c  Sauiour, 

BY     THE 
CONTAINING 

MANY  GEMS  OF  ART  AND  GENIUS, 

ILLUSTRATIVE    OF 

THE  SAVIOUR'S  LIFE  AND  PASSION. 

EDITED  BY  THE 

REV.  RUFUS  GRISWOLD. 

SHE  ILLUSTRAHONS,  WHICn  AHE  EXQUISITELY  ENGEATED  ON  STEEl, 
ET  JOHN  SARTMN,  ARE  : 

The  Holy  Family,  painted  by  N.  Poussin; 

The  Saviour,  by  I'aul  Delaroche; 

Christ  by  the  Well  of  Sychar,  by  Emelie  Signol; 

The  Daughter  of  Jarius,  by  Delonne; 

Walking  on  the  Sea,  by  Henry  Richter; 

The  Ten  Lepers,  by  A.  Vandyke; 

The  Last  Supper,  by  Benjamin  West; 

The  Women  at  the  Sepulchre,  by  Philip  Viet. 

THE  LITEEAET  CONTENTS,  COMPRISING  SISTT-FOUR  POEMS  ARE  BY 

Milton,   Hciuans,   Moiitsomery,   Kelile,    Mrs*   Slgourney^ 

Hiss  liaiidon,  Dale,  Willis,  liuliinch,  Bctliunc,  LongB 

fellow,  ^Vl^ittic^,   Croly,   Klopstocky  Mrs*  Osgood, 

Pierpont   Crosswell,  and  other  celeljrated  Poets 

of  this  and  other  Conntriesi 

The  volume  is  richly  and  beautifully  bound  in  Turkey  Morocco,  gilt,  whito 

calf  extra,  or  embossed  cloth,  gilt  edges,  sides,  and  back. 


We  commend  this  volume  to  the  attention  of  those  who  would  place  a  Sou- 
venir in  the  hands  of  their  friends,  to  invite  them  in  the  purest  etrains  of 
poetry,  and  by  the  eloquence  of  art,  to  study  the  Life  of  the  Saviour. — Chris- 
tian  Observer. 

The  contents  are  so  arranged  as  to  constitute  a  Poetical  and  Pictorial  Life 
of  the  Saviour,  and  we  can  think  no  more  appropriate  gift-book.  In  typo- 
graphy, embellishments,  and  binding,  we  have  recently  seen  nothing  more 
tiaateful  and  rich. — NorUi  American. 

We  like  this  book,  as  well  for  its  beauty  as  for  its  elevated  character.    It  if 

just  such  an  one  as  is  suited,  either  for  a  library  or  a  parlour  centre-table; 

and  no  one  can  arise  from  its  perusal  without  feeling  strongly  the  sublimity 

and  enduring  character  of  the  Christian  religion. — HarrUhurg  Telegraph. 

9 


LINDSAY   &  BLAKISTON 

HAVE  JUST  PUBLISHED 
EDITED  BT  IHE 

EEV   H.  HASTINGS  WELD; 

WITH 

Original  Literary  Contributions, 

BT 

DISTINGUISHED  AMERICAN  WRITERS; 

BEADTIFULLT  ILIUSTKATED  BT' 

TWELVE  SUPERB  ENGRAVINGS  ON  STEEL, 

By  J.  Sartain,  Philadelphia, 

FROM  ORIGINAL  DESIGNS,  EXPRESSLY  FOR  THE  WORK 

By  T.  P.  Eossiter,  New  York : 

INCLIFDINa 

Uiriam,  Ere,  Sarah,  Rachel,  Hannah,  Euth,  Queen  of  Sheba,  Shunamite, 
Esther,  The  Syrophenieian,  Martha,  The  Marys. 

Elegantly  hound  in  White  Calf,  Turkey  Morocco,  and  Cloth  Extra,  toith 
Gilt  Edges. 


PREFACE. 

The  suhject  of  this  hook  entitles  it  to  a  high  place  among  illustrated  tc* 
lumes.  The  execution,  literary  and  artistic,  will,  we  are  confident,  be  found 
worthy  of  the  theme ;  since  we  have  received  the  assistance  of  authors  best 
known  in  the  sacred  literature  of  our  country,  in  presenting,  in  their  various 
important  attitudes  and  relations,  the  Women  of  the  Scriptures.  The  con- 
tents of  the  volume  were  prepared  expressly  for  it,  with  the  exception  of  the 
pages  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Balfour ;  and  for  the  republication  of  her  arti- 
cles, no  one  who  reads  them  will  require  an  apology.  The  designs  for  the 
engravings  are  original;  and  the  Publishers  trust  that  in  the  present  volume 
they  have  made  their  best  acknowledgment  for  the  favour  with  which  itg 
predecessors  have  been  received.  The  whole,  they  believe,  will  be  found  no 
Inapt  memento  of  those  to  whom  St.  Peter  refers  the  sex  for  an  ensample: 
"the  holy  women,  in  the  old  time." 

10 


LINDSAY   &   BLAKISTON 


THE  CAir-FIEES 

OF 

THE    REYOLUTION 

OR, 

€)^t  Wax  nf  3iiilB|iBntipntB; 

ILLUSTRATED    BY 

THRILLING  EVENTS  AND   STORIES 

BY    THE 

OLD   CONTINENTAL  SOLDIERS. 
BY    HENRY    C.    WATSON. 

WITH    ORIGINAL    ILLUSTRATIONS    BY    CROOME. 


CONTENTS. 

THE   CAMP-FIRES 


DORCHESTER    HEIGHTS. 

CAMBRIDGE. 

MOUNT    INDEPENDENCE. 

LONG    ISLAND. 

SKIPPACK    CREEK. 

GERMANTOWN. 

VALLEY    FORGE. 

AVHITEMARSH. 

WHITE    PLAINS. 

SARATOGA. 


AT    MIDDLEBROOK. 

AT    MIDDLEBROOK    (CONTINUED). 

ON    THE    SUSQUEHANNA. 

AT    SPRINGFIELD. 

AT    MORRISTOWN. 

ON    THE    OLD    PEDEE. 

IN    THE    SWAMP. 

ON  THE  HILLS  OF  SANTEE. 

NEAR  CHARLESTON. 

CAROUSAL. 


Extract  from  the  Preface. 
In  presenting:  the  "  Camp-Fires  of  the  Revolution"  to  the  public,  a  few  remarks  may  be  necessary, 
or,  at  least,  will  not  bp  mal  apropos.  The  "  battles,  sieges,  fortunes,"  of  the  war  in  which  American 
Inilependenoe  was  secured,  may  be  found  detailed  in  liistory,  with  all  possible  accuracy,  and  elabo- 
rate criticism.  But  the  sufferings  of  the  ill-fumished  soldiers  during  the  long  and  dreary  winters  of 
that  period,  and  their  means  of  whiling  away  the  time  when  forced  to  gather  around  the  camp-fire 
and  watch  when  they  had  not  the  conveniences  for  sleeping,  are  not  to  be  found  on  the  dignified 
page  of  history. 

Clotli,  extra  gilt  sides.     Price  f  3. 


